Race 1 was a stirring affair to kick off the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round at the Misano World Circuit "Marco Simoncelli". Valentin Debise (EASTROC ZXMOTO Factory Evan Bros Racing) was the star of the FIM Supersport World Championship’s opening race in Italy, as he equalled Sam Lowes and Yari Montella for 13th in all-time WorldSSP wins. He was joined on the rostrum by Albert Arenas (AS BLU CRU Racing Team) for his 10th rookie-season podium, and his third in a row. Lastly, Can Oncu (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) earned his 36th WorldSSP podium and his sixth of this season. Saturday afternoon’s Race 1 was the third time the trio shared the podium this season after Balaton Park Race 1 and Most Race 1.
DEBISE TAKES HIS 8th WorldSSP WIN
Oncu led Debise and Arenas into Turn 1 for the holeshot, and early on, the pair and Albert Arenas (AS BLU CRU Racing Team) isolated themselves at the front. Debise made a play on Turn 11 with 13 laps to go to take P1, with Arenas making his way through moments later. Arenas put himself past the Frenchman on Turn 1 shortly after to lead the affair with 11 laps left to ride.
By Lap 9, lagging pace saw Oncu drop down behind the fight for the race win, narrowing it down to just two riders. On the last lap, Valentin Debise sent himself past with a gutsy move on the high-speed “Curvone” Turn 11, parried by a late Turn 16 overtake by the Spaniard, the #53 saw the move coming and cut back inside of the #75 to take ZXMOTO’s sixth win of their maiden season. His P2 means his lead falls by two points to 38, now tailed by Debise as Masia tumbles to P3, 22 points behind the #53. While he couldn’t fight for the win, Oncu made a welcome return to the podium after an uphill round at Aragon.
BOOTH-AMOS MAKES HIS WAY THROUGH
Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) started from P7 but had a spirited ride in the first half of the race to overcome Zaccone for P5 by Lap 8. After chipping away at Masia’s gap, He made his way through for P4 on Jaume Masia with three laps left to ride. The Spanish rider nearly made his way back through on the Brit; Masia made contact with the #69 and came off worse for wear, crashing on the run to the finish line to see Booth-Amos with P4 and Masia with a DNF, a tough blow to his Championship hopes. Alessandro Zaccone (Ecosantagata Althea Racing Team) shot off the line to make up several positions into P4 early on, but having made a mistake on Lap 8 and posting a lap seven tenths slower than his previous lap, he fell to P6 before Masia’s crash boosted him back up to P5. Mattia Casadei’s impressive home form continued after a P9 placement in Friday’s Tissot Superpole session. He dug in in P7 for most of the race and was rewarded with an improvement to P6 at the finale.
BAYLISS CONTINUES TO SHINE
In P7, Oli Bayliss (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) continues his much-improved form in 2026, landing his fourth top ten in the last five races. Simon Jespersen (EAB Racing Team) took P8; similarly strong recent riding from the Dane, with five top tens in the last seven races. Closing out the top ten spots, Federico Caricasulo (EASTROC ZXMOTO Factory Evan Bros Racing) made it two ZXMOTO 820RRs in the top ten for the third time this season from P9, and Roberto Garcia (GMT94 Yamaha) sealed Saturday in P10.
The top six from the WorldSSP Race 1: Full results here!
- Valentin Debise (EASTROC ZXMOTO Evan Bros Factory)
2. Albert Arenas (AS BLU CRU Racing Team) +0.107s
3. Can Oncu (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) +5.049s
4. Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) +5.934s
5. Alessandro Zaccone (Ecosantagata Althea Racing Team) +7.607s
6. Mattia Casadei (D34G WorldSSP Racing Team) +10.450s
Fastest Lap: Valentin Debise (ZXMOTO): 1'37.216s
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