Gerloff starts the weekend in positive form

At a hot Donington Park circuit in the UK, Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) started the eighth round of the championship with strong showings in the two free practice sessions at the classic 4.023km long circuit.

The team’s Texan rider was eighth in the morning free practice session, and ended up ninth overall after the best lap times from FP1 and FP2 were combined. A full twenty-three WorldSBK riders took part in Friday’s track action.

Gerloff and his technical crew were keen to start this weekend in the best possible fashion with their Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR machine, to maximise their chances of qualifying and racing well. At the end of day one, Garrett’s best lap time was 0.689 seconds from the fastest pace.

Saturday hosts a short FP3 session, then Superpole Qualifying, and a 23-lap Race One. The ten-lap Tissot Superpole Race and a second 23-lap race will take place on Sunday, July 12, before the start of a long summer break.

Garrett Gerloff: “Donington was hot on the first day and it was actually a really good day. I am happy with how the team and I are working together with the Ninja ZX-10RR. We had two decent sessions inside the top ten, and I felt better at the end of the second session, so I think that should prove to be good for us tomorrow. We will make some more changes tonight and then we will show up on Saturday ready to go.”

Alcoba fourth in Superpole at Donington Park

The eighth Supersport World Championship round got underway with today’s free practice at Donington Park. Having recently completed a test at Cremona Circuit, the Kawasaki WorldSSP Team heads into this round at the historic English circuit keen to score the best possible results.

In hot and sunny conditions, Jeremy Alcoba and Dominique Aegerter took to the track this morning for FP1, a practice session that gives the riders and teams an opportunity to find the best possible technical setup for the subsequent Superpole and Saturday and Sunday’s races.

Aegerter (1’29”961) finished the session in twelfth place, just 0.007 of a second behind teammate Alcoba (1.29”954).

Friday afternoon brought the Superpole, the session that established the grid for Race 1. Alcoba put in an impressive performance, setting a 1’29”128, which proved to be the fourth fastest time of the session. Dominique Aegerter also did well, recording a fastest time of 1’29”622 to finish thirteenth, less than half a second from his teammate.

Thanks to these results, Alcoba will line up on the second row of the grid for Race 1, and Aegerter from the fifth.

Jeremy Alcoba: “This is only the second time I’m racing at this historic track, but I have to say I really like it. Already this morning I found good feeling with the bike and good pace despite lapping alone; I was pretty close to the frontrunners. It was a little windy in qualifying, but this didn’t prevent me from finishing fourth. I haven’t had such a good qualifying for a while, and I even made a few small mistakes on my flying lap – otherwise I could have started on the front row. I’ll try to do better in tomorrow’s race… look out for me!”

Dominique Aegerter: “It was really hot today. I really like this “old style” track and know it well. We’ve had a positive Friday and have taken a good step forward. In practice, I was lying first at one point and that really motivated me. Unfortunately, we missed out on the top ten in Superpole and I finished thirteenth. I’m happy for Alcoba though; he had a really great qualifying. We tried to help each other on track and for tomorrow I just another two or three tenths to be able to run a strong race. Forza Kawasaki, always!”

Eighth place for Gerloff in Race One at Donington Park

Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) went from 11th place in Superpole qualifying to eighth place in the opening race at Donington Park, moving up four places over the 23 lap race.

In the morning Superpole qualifying session, Gerloff was agonisingly close to a second-row starting place, thanks to a best lap time that was almost good enough for a top-six pace.

His 1’25.468 Superpole lap placed him 11th on the starting grid for Race One, meaning he had to launch from the fourth row.

American rider Gerloff was in 12th place after lap one but moved through the field to tenth on lap six, and then his ultimate finishing position of eighth on lap nine.

Now Garrett and his Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR machine will take part in a short warm-up session, a ten-lap Superpole Race, and then a final 23-lap Race Two, all on Sunday 12 July.

Manuel Puccetti: “I’m pleased with Garrett Gerloff’s eighth place finish in Race 1 today. Our rider ran a strong race, recovering well and showing both the pace and potential to leave us feeling optimistic ahead of Sunday’s races.”

Garrett Gerloff: “All-in-all, I am pretty happy with today. I wish we could have been a little bit better in qualifying – but I was only two tenths from fifth place and I qualified 11th. It is so competitive right now in the midfield. I was happy with the race though, I felt good and pretty consistent and I am happy to give the guys in the team a top ten finish. And it is nice to be close to the bimotas, as that is the only reference I have. Maybe we will make some set-up changes for Sunday and then we will go again.”

First podium of 2026 for Alcoba and Kawasaki

Kawasaki WorldSSP Team rider Jeremy Alcoba rode to a determined third place in the opening 19-lap race at Donington Park, taking his and Kawasaki’s first podium of the current season.

Dominique Aegerter (Kawasaki WorldSSP Team) was 12th in Race One.

Race action at the eighth round of the 2026 FIM Supersport World Championship would prove to be season-best level for Jeremy Alcoba. After a less than ideal launch from his fourth-place grid position, the Spanish rider confidently recovered the track positions that he had initially lost, eventually securing a spirited third-place finish.

He only missed out on second place by 0.461 seconds, leaving him to enjoy his eventual podium finish, yet also wonder what may have been possible with a better start, and not having to fight back from eighth position in the early stages.

This was Jeremy’s third career podium on the Ninja ZX-6R 636 machine, with his two previous top three results being earned during his first season with Kawasaki, in 2025.

Double WorldSSP Champion Aegerter launched from 13th place on the grid and finished 12th, securing championship points in the process.

After setting the seventh fastest lap of Race One, Jeremy will launch from the third row of the grid in Race Two on Sunday 12 July.

Manuel Puccetti: “We’ve finally achieved a significant result thanks to a fantastic performance by our rider Jeremy Alcoba and to the hard work of our entire team, which has harnessed everything we did during the Cremona test. We soon realized that, with a front row start and the performance of our bike, we were in with a shot at the podium, and we were able to achieve just that. So, we’re very happy and will be pushing hard for a top three finish again tomorrow.”

Jeremy Alcoba: “It was a really bad start and I think that was because we did not practice starts a lot this weekend. I tried to save as many positions as possible. I expected to save more positions than I did, but the first corner was not good enough. I was calm, however, because I knew that the tyres would drop a lot, so I kept my pace. I knew the others would be strong at the beginning but not at the end. I knew that I am good at the end of the races. I was consistent and lap-by-lap I was trying to pass the other riders when I caught them. For almost nothing I could not quite take second position, but I am still really happy. From Friday everything was easy. The first laps were easy and we did not fight too much to find the settings. I think in the recent Cremona test we found something that makes us faster. I am really happy for the work that the team did, so let’s keep on like this.”

Dominique Aegerter: “I expected much more from Race One. I am disappointed with P12. I was expecting that we could fight for a top ten, and be a bit faster. We need to check where we can improve and I hope we can improve a little bit more because on Friday we started quite well. I hope we can do that for Sunday and I will try to adapt my riding style to this track and the bike. The team is working hard to give me a better solution and better bike set-up to go faster. Tomorrow we start from P14 so I hope we can make a top ten finish and take some points home. Big congratulations to Jeremy as he made a great race today and it is good for the Kawasaki WorldSSP Team.”

Garrett Gerloff finishes P6 in Race Two

Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) used the best machine set-up he and his crew had found over the whole Donington race weekend to finish a confident sixth in the 23-lap duration Race Two.

In the Sunday morning Superpole Race Gerloff placed ninth after ten intense laps of the 4.023km circuit located in the English Midlands. He gained two places on his grid position thanks to his Superpole Race finishing position, and started the final ‘long’ race from ninth place.

Working with a strong set-up on his Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR machine, Gerloff moved into sixth place at the flag, just a second behind the rider in fifth place, Alex Lowes. His Race Two results meant that he had scored points in all three of the Donington races.

In the championship standings, after eight rounds of 12, Gerloff is eighth overall, with 110 points.

A vastly long summer break will now take place in the race action, with the next round not taking place until 4-6 September, at Magny-Cours in France.

Manuel Puccetti: “With the Superpole Race Gerloff again proved that he’s a regular top ten finisher, while in Race 2 he achieved an excellent sixth place, which I think is the best result we can obtain right now. This weekend our rider was in the points in every race, and this repays both his efforts and those of the team.”

Garrett Gerloff: “It was really nice to finish the weekend pretty strongly here in Donington. The team did an awesome job, and we have been changing bike settings all weekend, changing electronics and so on all weekend. It is always good when we finish the weekend with the best set-up. I felt I was really able to do the best I could have done. I wish I had been able to get a little bit closer to Axel and Alex in Race Two. I think maybe if I didn’t get caught up behind Sam Lowes for a lap I could be there, but anyway it was nice to cross the line and still be within a second of them. Top six is something we will take.”

Top six for Alcoba and Aegerter fourteenth on Sunday

Kawasaki WorldSSP Team riders Jeremy Alcoba and Dominique Aegerter finished sixth and 14th respectively in the second WorldSSP race of the Donington Park weekend.

In warm but not extreme weather conditions, Alcoba launched from seventh place on the grid. During the race he was run into the gravel by another rider, but recovered some positions to eventually finish inside the top six places on his Ninja ZX-6R 636.

Dominique started the race in the same 14th place that he finished it in, but he was down in 17th after lap one. The two-time WorldSSP champion gained two places on the final two laps, to get back into 14th position and score two championship points.

In the championship rankings, after eight of 12 rounds, Alcoba is seventh overall, with 126 points, while Aegerter is 17th, with 37 points.

There now starts a very long summer break in WorldSSP action, with the next round not taking place until 4-6 September, at the Magny Cours round in France.

Manuel Puccetti: “Alcoba’s race was ruined today by an overly aggressive move by another rider, which forced him off track and stopped him from climbing any further up the field. I believe that move denied him the possibility of another podium. Aegerter started further back and was nevertheless able to reach the points zone.”

Jeremy Alcoba: “I am not as happy as yesterday because I know my pace and I know the race that I was doing today. Everything was happening like I thought it would until one rider decided to put me out of the track and I went into the gravel. That was just at the moment I was attacking but then I lost two seconds. When I saw the final results, I was two seconds away from being able to fight for P2, like yesterday. It is a shame because I wanted to have a perfect weekend. It is not always like this so I wanted to take the most profit possible when we had the chance. Sometimes racing is like this. In the previous round, I was P5, then I was P3 here and now again P6. I think we are in a good moment. Now we go on holiday from racing, but we will keep pushing and the team did a really good job. Thanks to everyone and here’s to the next one.”

Dominique Aegerter: “It was not what we expected, so I was disappointed with Race Two. I finished P14, but I was hoping for a better result. I was riding on the limit every lap, and we improved the bike slightly today. The conditions were slightly different, however, with much more wind. We lost ten seconds to the winner at the end of the race – which is not that much – but the Supersport field is really competitive. We need to find two or three tenths more to be really in the top ten. Now we have a long break, so I will for sure train and also have some days to relax. I want to say thanks to the team because they try to do everything they can, and also to Kawasaki, my fans, and sponsors. See you in Magny-Cours in September.”