Jerez, Race 1: Yamaha victory for the world champion – Aegerter in 5th place

On Friday, world champion Albert Arenas (Yamaha) secured pole position for the first race of the 2026 Supersport World Championship in Jerez. The front row was completed by his compatriot Jorge Navarro (Triumph) and Can Öncü (Yamaha).

Dominique Aegerter (Kawasaki) qualified in fourth place, ahead of his Kawasaki team-mate Jeremy Alcoba (5th). Philipp Öttl (Ducati), by contrast, started the first race from 19th on the grid, whilst Andreas Kofler (Yamaha) started 33rd.

The 17-lap race got underway on the dot at 2.00 pm local time in 27 degrees Celsius. Arenas won the sprint to the first corner, followed by Öncü, Navarro, Mattia Casadei (Ducati), Aegerter and Alcoba. Arenas held his position against a pressing Öncü on the first lap. Meanwhile, Aegerter dropped back to 7th place, Öttl to 18th and Kofler to 26th.

Whilst Arenas and Öncü pulled away from Navarro and Booth-Amos, Yuki Okamoto (Yamaha) and Simon Jespersen (Ducati) had already been forced out of the race after four laps following a crash. The Dane was rammed by Eric Fernandez. Aegerter was ninth, but was only 2.9 seconds behind.

Arenas and Öncü were pulling further and further clear of the Triumph riders. Booth-Amos had overtaken Navarro to take third place, and Alcoba (5th) was also lapping faster than Navarro.

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By lap 8, the Yamaha riders were leading by 2 seconds and Alcoba had snatched fourth place from Navarro. The Kawasaki rider was steadily improving as the race went on and had not yet ruled out a podium finish. Aegerter was battling for seventh place with Filippo Farioli (Yamaha) and Mattia Casadei (Ducati). Öttl (18th) was within striking distance of 14th place.

Initially, little changed in the top five during the second half of the race. Aegerter, however, stood out, having moved up to seventh position and closing in on Ducati rider Casadei (6th). The Swiss rider was matching the lap times of the front-runners.

On lap 12, Andrea Kofler retired from the race and Öttl, in 15th place, found himself in the points for the first time. Alcoba now also overtook the second Triumph ridden by Booth-Amos, but was 3 seconds behind Arenas and Öncü.

Kawasaki riders step up a gear

Whilst Arenas and Öncü were slowing down, the astonishing Alcoba was getting faster and faster. With three laps to go, the Spaniard was just 0.6 seconds behind Öncü and 1.8 seconds behind Arenas! Aegerter was also impressive: the 36-year-old overtook Ferrari and was just 0.2 seconds behind Navarro (5th).

Alcoba didn’t hesitate when he overtook Öncü at the end of lap 15 – Arenas, who had been leading throughout, now had just one second’s lead left!

In the end, Alcoba ran out of time. Arenas held on to a 0.5-second lead over the Kawasaki rider and a 2.2-second lead over Öncü to take the chequered flag, securing his fourth victory in the 2026 Supersport World Championship. Just 0.034 seconds behind the Turkish rider, Tom Booth-Amos crossed the finish line in an unfortunate fourth place.

Dominique Aegerter with his best result of the season

Finishing fifth, Dominique Aegerter secured his best result of the season. For the two-time Supersport World Champion, this is an important result with a view to 2027.

Matteo Ferrari was the best Ducati rider in sixth place. Philipp Öttl (16th) lost 15th place to his team-mate Josh Whatley on the final lap.

Runner-up in the world championship, Valentin Debise, secured a top-10 finish on the ZX Moto thanks to a strong final phase. Honda, QJ Motor and MV Agusta failed to score points.