September 25–27, 2026 | WorldSBK & WorldSSP Round 10 – EICMA Italian Round

Cremona Circuit hosted the tenth round of the World Superbike Championship during a weekend that will go down in history. Jeremy Alcoba wrote the most significant chapter of his career with a performance that no one in the WorldSSP paddock expected to see—in terms of form, timing, or venue. For Manuel Puccetti’s Kawasaki WorldSSP Team, this home round—the squad is based in Reggio Emilia, just over a hundred kilometers from the circuit—was a standout experience, unlike almost anything in their recent history.

JEREMY ALCOBA | Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R 636 | WorldSSP

Let’s start at the beginning, as Alcoba’s weekend story really starts on Friday. In Superpole, the Kawasaki WorldSSP Team rider snatched his first-ever WorldSSP pole position with a blistering final lap, also setting a new lap record of 1:31.259. It was Kawasaki’s first pole in the category since 2021, achieved without the benefit of a slipstream and in a session where the top 20 riders were separated by less than a second.
Saturday’s Race 1 then made history, with the race unfolding in a way that vindicated every technical and tactical decision made by Alcoba and his crew. The initial race was red-flagged in the early stages following a crash by Roberto Garcia, leading to a restart over a shortened distance of 13 laps. At the restart, Arenas took the lead on the opening lap, with Alcoba running second. The Spanish Kawasaki rider wasted no time: he moved into the lead on lap 2 and never relinquished it, managing a four-rider group that remained separated by less than a second throughout the race. Alcoba finished 0.568 seconds ahead of Arenas, with Farioli third at 0.688; this marked the Spaniard’s first career victory and Kawasaki’s first WorldSSP win in three years.
On Sunday, rather than simply defending Saturday’s historic result, Alcoba raised his game even further. In Race 2—run over the full 20-lap distance—the Kawasaki rider engaged in a tactical, race-long battle with Arenas and Booth-Amos; the latter had moved up to second place on lap 2, attempting to close the gap to the leader. On lap 15, Alcoba responded by pulling clear of Booth-Amos, and on lap 19—the penultimate lap—he overtook Arenas at Turn 11, holding off the championship leader until the checkered flag. His winning margin over Arenas was 0.493 seconds, with Booth-Amos finishing third, 1.700 seconds back.
The Cremona double victory marks the first time Kawasaki has achieved such a feat in a single WorldSSP weekend since 2020. Pole position, Race 1, Race 2: a clean sweep—a perfect weekend on home soil. With 188 points, Alcoba climbs to sixth place in the overall standings, thrusting the Ninja ZX-6R 636 into the spotlight during the decisive phase of the season.

DOMINIQUE AEGERTER | Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R 636 | WorldSSP

For Aegerter, the Cremona round concluded with a twelfth-place finish in Race 2. This result reflects the single-lap pace struggles that have characterized his season; a poor qualifying performance at Cremona—leaving him far off the frontrunners—made it difficult for him to join the battle at the sharp end of the field. The Swiss rider finished about 15 seconds behind the winner; while his race pace was better than his starting position suggested, it was not enough to catch the lead group. The technical team continues its work to find the optimal setup for the ZX-6R 636, with the two-time world champion remaining a key technical reference point for the bike’s development during the final part of the season.

GARRETT GERLOFF | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | WorldSBK

In Friday’s free practice, Gerloff was the top non-Ducati rider, posting the eighth-fastest combined time—0.805 seconds off the benchmark. This was an encouraging sign on a fast track that was relatively new territory for the ZX-10RR, confirming the upward trend seen in recent weeks.
In Race 1, the Texan scored points in a race dominated by Lecuona, finishing in the middle of the pack. Sunday, however, told a more complicated story, though the outcome still spoke volumes about the character of both the rider and the team.
In the Superpole Race, Gerloff got off to a good start, moving up to around seventh place in the early stages, but he crashed on the opening lap while exiting Turn 7. The Kawasaki garage managed to get the Ninja ZX-10RR back on track in time for the start of Race 2, despite the physical toll of the crash. His eighth-place finish—achieved after starting from the back of the grid in a 23-lap race—must be viewed in context: few riders would have had the composure to fight back like that after crashing in the previous session, with a bike repaired at the last minute. Gerloff remains eighth in the overall standings with 145 points, solidifying his position as the top non-Bimota rider outside the Ducati ranks.