Jeremy Alcoba after winning streak: Settling the score with his critics

Jeremy Alcoba capped off his impressive late-season run with another victory at the Supersport World Championship season finale in Jerez. The Kawasaki rider was in the lead when the final race of the year was abandoned on lap 12. With this victory, he overtook Yamaha rider Can Öncü in the championship standings to secure third place overall.

Alcoba was the strongest rider on the grid over the final three race weekends. He won both races at Cremona, followed that up with another victory and a third place at Estoril, and rounded off the season at Jerez with a second and a first. Four wins and two further podium finishes from six races underline the strides the Spaniard has made on his Kawasaki.

“What can I say? I believed in it, worked hard for it, and that’s why we deserve it. A few races ago we found something and have been faster ever since. The bike was already performing better in the final races last year,” explained Alcoba during a meeting with SPEEDWEEK.com editor-in-chief Ivo Schützbach in Jerez.

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He saw the fact that his team-mate Dominique Aegerter also became stronger towards the end of the season as confirmation of the package’s potential. “We pushed extra hard and had a really good feeling. Domi also felt comfortable on the bike and was quick in the final races. I was able to show that the bike is good. Then the rest just fell into place,” the Kawasaki rider noted.

Even during the more difficult phase, Alcoba had never doubted his own abilities. “I knew how to win races. I live to win. I always knew just how much potential I had. I knew what needed to be done,” he emphasised.

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Aegerter had cited the two additional tests in Cremona as a helpful factor in the upward trend. Alcoba, however, did not want to attribute the breakthrough solely to them. In his view, his team had already discovered a crucial approach beforehand. “I can’t say whether it was down to the tests. I don’t know. In the second Misano race, we definitely found something. And we then confirmed that in Cremona,” explained the Spaniard.

It is noteworthy that the successful set-up apparently does not meet the expectations of the Kawasaki engineers. What seems unconvincing in theory gives Alcoba the confidence he needs on the track. “If you ask the Kawasaki people about the set-up, you can see their despair. They say it doesn’t work like that. But I got on well with it; the bike worked really well. Perhaps we’ve opened a door for future riders,” explained Alcoba.

The final sprint was achieved on a tried-and-tested bike whose competitiveness had, at times, been called into question. For Alcoba, therefore, the return to the top was also the result of intense debates about the right approach. “It’s clear that the bike isn’t new. Many have wondered what we did to the Kawasaki to make it competitive again. We worked hard, we believed in it, but we also fought hard in the pits. In the end, we were able to enjoy it and achieve the best possible result,” he summarised.

Alcoba’s response to the critics

When asked about the significance of his third place in the World Championship, his initial response was surprisingly matter-of-fact. It soon became clear, however, that the result also represented a personal sense of satisfaction for him. “It doesn’t mean much to me. Of course, it has a certain significance because there was a point this season when a lot of fingers were pointed at me. People said I wasn’t training, just partying and this and that. Some of it was true, but I’m 24 years old. Nevertheless, I trained every day and lived my life,” Alcoba replied.

The Spaniard rejected the notion that leisure time and sporting ambition are incompatible. “If elite athletes give up celebrating with their friends, they’ve got no life. You only live once and you’ve got to enjoy life. You’ve got to switch off and come to terms with the race weekends – whether they were good or bad,” he explained.

Four wins in the last six races provided him with the sporting evidence. With his critics in mind, the World Championship bronze medallist therefore had an even clearer message: “It means a lot to me when I think of the people who talk rubbish about me,” Alcoba made clear.