Albert Arenas returned to the podium in the FIM Supersport World Championship after a frenetic battle for victory in the closing stages of Race 2 at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimão, Portugal on Sunday.
The 2020 Moto3 World Champion was in the fight for the rostrum on Saturday, crossing the line fifth but an improvement in pace for Sunday’s race saw him challenge for the win in what would become a busy and dramatic closing three laps.
Saturday’s race winner Valentin Debise looked comfortable at the front, but Arenas (AS BLU CRU Racing Team) and the two GMT94 Yamahas of Lucas Mahias and Roberto Garcia were determined to push for victory with Jaume Masia also in the mix. The trio took turns in challenging Debise in the final stages, with both Arenas and Mahias getting past the Frenchman into the penultimate lap, but an error on Arenas’ part saw him forced to drop position on the last lap. This gave Debise the edge and Masia also slipped past, leaving the trio of Yamahas to battle it out for the final podium spot on the final lap. A last corner move from Arenas saw him charge to the line in third, meaning he leaves Round 2 just six points behind new series leader Masia.
Having sat in second position for most of the race, Lucas Mahias missed the podium by just 0.021 seconds in fourth with team-mate Garcia a further 0.039 seconds back in fifth.
It was a challenging weekend for Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing’s Can Öncü, who crashed out of the lead in Saturday’s first race before an eighth-place finish on Sunday.
Aldi Satya Mahendra (AS BLU CRU Racing) retired from the race as he was suffering with his injury from a recent cycling accident, while Yuki Okamoto (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate) finished 21st.
The 2026 Supersport World Championship continues at the iconic TT Circuit Assen between 17-19 April.
Albert Arenas (AS BLU CRU Yamaha Racing) – Race 2: 3rd, Championship: 2nd
I feel a bit of a bittersweet, feeling, because I feel we were very strong in both races, and give me something, especially in the last lab. But it’s okay, we will try to understand where we can make a little step. I think overall, during the race, I was fast, and we can take good information to improve, and yeah, our competitors are tough, bikes are different, and they have a lot of experience in this championship. We are just starting. Also, my team is working with a completely new bike for a few months. So I hope that this first round is starting point for us to try to build up from.
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