Albert Arenas took one step closer to becoming 2026 FIM Supersport World Champion with second place in the opening race of Round 10 of the championship at the Cremona Circuit, Italy.
Starting from second on the grid, Arenas (AS BLU CRU Racing) led the pack into the first corner and was looking strong when a red flag interrupted proceedings on just the third lap as Roberto Garcia (GMT94 Yamaha) crashed out. The Spaniard was able to enjoy another strong launch on the restart to sit second in the early stages of the shortened 13-lap Sprint.
A small issue meant Arenas was unable to exploit his potential and challenge for the lead, and a flying Filippo Farioli (VFT Racing Yamaha) tried to get the better of the champion-elect, but a strong final few corners was enough for Arenas to keep the Italian at bay. While missing second, Farioli’s third place marked a maiden WorldSSP podium for the VFT Racing rider.
Aldi Satya Mahendra (AS BLU CRU Racing) made a strong recovery from his 20th place in Superpole to finish inside the top ten, while Yuki Okamoto on the Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing R9 finished 20th.
It was a less fortunate day for the remainder of the Yamaha R9 contingent. Can Öncü (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) crashed out of a top six spot in the early stages of the restart with GMT94 Yamaha’s Lucas Mahias also sliding off after five laps.
Race 2 presents Arenas with his first chance to clinch the title with a lead of 77 points, but he’d need to outscore rival Valentin Debise by 24 points to do so. The series leader will start the second race from the head of row two in fourth, ahead of Farioli in fifth. Can Öncü will start on the third row in seventh.
Albert Arenas (AS BLU CRU Racing),
Race 1: 2nd, Championship: 1st (331 points)
“It is an important result for us, another podium and another strong fight and overall a good weekend so far. In the first start, the bike was feeling really nice and I was feeling very good in those first few laps, and on the second start I got a perfect launch from the lights but I started to have a small issue on the first lap which complicated things a little, so we need to look into that. I am a bit disappointed, as I wanted to fight for the win and I think we had the pace to win today, but unfortunately we could not do that. Fortunately we could still make it to the finish line and gained points in the championship. Tomorrow we will focus on the race, try to achieve the win and the rest is the rest, but of course it is good that the championship is getting closer.”
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