A crash affects Alcoba’s Superpole at Most

The fifth WorldSSP round got underway in cool, wet conditions at the Autodrom Most in the Czech Republic.

In Friday morning’s practice, which ran in the rain, rider Jeremy Alcoba, who is competing at this track for the first time, looked to be at ease with his ZX-6R and was able to place fourth, setting a best of 1’41”343 despite the difficult conditions.

Superpole took place in the early afternoon on a damp track that gradually dried out. Jeremy was making a fast lap when another rider caused him to crash, which prevented him from continuing with the qualifying session. With a time of 1’39”727, the Spaniard qualified thirteenth.

Tomorrow he will line up on row five of the grid for Race 1, which will run over a distance of 19 laps.

Autodrom Most – Czech Republic
Supersport World Championship
Superpole: 1) Mahias (Yamaha) – 2) Oncu (Yamaha) – 3) Debise (Ducati) – 4) Manzi (Yamaha) – 5) Oettl (Ducati) – 6) De Rosa (QJ Motor) ……… 13) Alcoba (Kawasaki)

Jeremy Alcoba: “Considering this is my first visit to Most, I think it’s gone well. I was very fast in the wet and was in Superpole too, but to avoid a slower rider I had to leave the clean line and crashed in the dirt. I was really unlucky, because without that crash I’m sure I would be starting from the second row. Instead, we’re on row five, but I’m confident we can complete a good race tomorrow. Thanks to the team for all their support.”

Complicated start for Gerloff at Most

Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) experienced an ever-changing landscape of track conditions on day one at the fifth round of the FIM Superbike World Championship at Autodrom Most in Czechia.

Friday 16 May was the first time that Gerloff had ridden around the Autodrom Most on his Ninja ZX-10RR. He was presented with a true challenge as the track surface started off damp and a little dirty, making FP1 a particularly difficult session to deal with.

It proved even more complicated than anyone could have expected after there were several big crashes from some top WorldSBK names, which led to four separate red flag stoppages.
FP2, in the afternoon, was again not begun in ideal track conditions. Gerloff started it positively as he made progress towards finding a final race set-up for Saturday’s first race of the Most weekend. Garrett was eventually 16th in the overall Friday timesheets.

Superpole Qualifying on Saturday 17 May determines Gerloff’s final Race One grid position. Sunday, 18 May, will feature a ten-lap Superpole Race and then a final 22-lap Race Two.

Garrett Gerloff: “It was a bit of a crazy opening day because of the weather. Those were not the easiest conditions to try stuff in. But, in the end, we did get two fairly dry sessions, which was nice. I was just trying to get used to the bike at this track. We did not make a whole lot of crazy-big changes but I am feeling better, lap-by-lap. At the beginning of the second Free Practice session I saw my name closer to the top and I was thinking, ‘Ok, here we go…” Then I started moving back down the order, but I didn’t feel so bad. Let’s see if we can improve a little bit on Saturday.”

Another top ten for Alcoba in Race 1 at Most

The first race of the fifth WorldSSP round played out today at Autodrom Most in the Czech Republic. Due to a mistake by another rider, yesterday’s Superpole result did not reflect Jeremy Alcoba and the Ninja ZX-6R’s true potential. Placing thirteenth, the Spaniard lined up on the fifth row of the grid for today’s race, which ran in cool, dry conditions over a distance of 19 laps.

Jeremy made a good start which allowed him to maintain his position. Over the following laps, Alcoba was able to gain ground, climbing as far as the top ten to score six more championship points. He now lies eighth in the standings with 66 points.

Tomorrow will see the Kawasaki WorldSSP Team back on track for the weekend’s second and final race.

Autodrom Most – Czech Republic
Supersport World Championship
Race 1: 1) Masia (Ducati) – 2) Oncu (Yamaha) – 3) Mahias (Yamaha) – 4) Schroetter (Ducati) – 5) Mahendra (Yamaha) – 6) Perolari (Honda) …… 10) Alcoba (Kawasaki)

Jeremy Alcoba: “I’d say it was a good race, in the end. In the beginning I struggled a little bit as the setup was pushing a lot and it felt nervous. Once the tyre dropped and with less fuel I started to feel much better and started to make some fast laps. I was catching the group in front, but it was not quite enough. I’m happy though because the feeling at the end of the race was positive and if we start tomorrow like we finished today, I think we can run a really good Race 2.”

Gerloff finishes 11th on Saturday

Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) had a positive Saturday at the fifth round of the FIM Superbike World Championship, at the Autodrom Most in Czechia. Having qualified strongly in Superpole Gerloff would enjoy his best single race finish since he joined Kawasaki, taking 11th place.

In Superpole Qualifying, which was held in dry and bright conditions on Saturday 17 May, Gerloff took his distinctive Ninja ZX-10RR to an overall eighth place. This earned him a starting spot in the middle of the third row of the grid.

Gerloff was tenth across the start finish line at the end of lap one in the first 22-lap race of this weekend. He would move up to ninth place two laps later. Garrett would be passed by some other riders to slip into 12th place before gaining one more position on lap 16 and end up 11th overall.

Gerloff scored some important championship points in Race One, and will have two more chances to do so again on Sunday 18 May; first in a short ten-lap Superpole Race and then a second 22-lap Race Two.

Garrett Gerloff: “That was a lot better Saturday than I have had all year. I am really happy to be speaking about that. I qualified on the third row, in eighth place, which is not bad – and probably the best qualifying I have had. We can all be happy about that. In the race I did not feel too bad, but I was missing something from the beginning. I kept getting passed by other riders. I hate that, but I was trying my best and I think we have a good idea what to do for tomorrow for that not to happen again. Let’s see on Sunday.”

Alcoba scores points in Race 2 at Most

The fifth WorldSSP round has concluded today at Autodrom Most in the Czech Republic. In yesterday’s Superpole Jeremy Alcoba placed thirteenth, before finishing Race 1 in tenth place, scoring valuable champonship points despite this being his first visit to the Czech track.

Today the Spaniard was back out for the second and final race of the weekend, which got underway in cool, cloudy conditions in the late morning.

Jeremy made a good start and was able to fight in the leading group until his tyre suffered a sudden drop in performance, which forced him to slow his pace and settle for fourteenth place, though he nevertheless scored two more points.

The next WorldSSP round will take place on 13-15 June at the Misano World Circuit in Italy.

Autodrom Most – Czech Republic
Supersport World Championship
Race 2: 1) Oncu (Yamaha) – 2) Mahias (Yamaha) – 3) Oettl (Ducati) – 4) Schroetter (Ducati) – 5) Debise (Ducati) – 6) Manzi (Yamaha) – 7) Mahendra (Yamaha) …… 14) Alcoba (Kawasaki)

Jeremy Alcoba: “The second race of the weekend didn’t go as expected because, considering yesterday’s performance and how we ended the first race, the idea was to continue in the same way. Today I started really well and didn’t lose any positions because I’ve improved my starts. I was so happy about that and then tried to push early on so that I could be in the leading group. Over the first six or seven laps everything was really close, and I saw potential to move up. Then the tyre dropped a lot, and I started to slow down. At the end of the race, it was hard to keep good pace. We need to find a solution for the next race.”

A season best for Gerloff

After Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) had taken the best race finish of the season in Race One at most on Saturday, he went on to improve on that once again in the 22-lap Race Two on Sunday 18 May.

American rider Gerloff had secured 11th place in Race One but in the second ‘long’ race of the Most race weekend he broke into the top ten for the first time since he joined Kawasaki this year.

The first competitive WorldSBK action on Sunday at the 4.212km long Autodrom Most was the ten-lap Tissot Superpole race. Gerloff started from eighth place on the grid. Even though he was in combative and confident mood he would end the ‘sprint’ race in 12th place.

Commencing Race Two from the fourth row of the grid Gerloff used a different map for his electronics and found an instant improvement. He was then able to set similar lap times to some of the front runners with his Ninja ZX-10RR. He kept his strong pace up all race long to finish tenth for the first time in 2025.

In the championship standings, after two Sunday races at Most, Gerloff is 17th overall, with 30 points.

With the WorldSBK Czech round now complete, the championship heads to Southern Europe and the often-visited seaside venue of the Misano World Circuit ‘Marco Simoncelli’.

Round six of the championship will take place between 13-15 June, at what will be the second ‘home’ round for the Kawasaki WorldSBK Team after a recent race weekend in early May at the Cremona Circuit.

Garrett Gerloff: “I think this is our best weekend so far and at least it is getting better, slowly but surely. I am understanding the bike more, I am feeling more comfortable with it and we keep discovering all kinds of stuff. I went to a different map today and it just made the bike so much better, immediately. It is things like that we are learning as a team, and it will take time, but we are going in a good direction. I am excited for the Misano test coming up soon. Maybe I can try some more stuff and make more progress. Thanks to the team because it has been good here in Most, so let’s keep that going.”