The World Supersport Championship riders set the tone for their weekend in the first race at Balaton Park (Hungary), but it was Valentin Debise (EASTROC ZXMOTO Factory Evan Bros Racing) who had the last word for the third time in 2026. By beating Albert Arenas (AS BLU CRU Racing Team) after overtaking Can Oncu (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) on the last lap, he secured his first victory since his double win at Portimao.
The race was indeed eventful from start to finish. After dominating most of the race, Roberto Garcia (GMT94 Yamaha) was forced to retire, the victim of a crash in the final sector while leading. The event had started badly for him after a lackluster Superpole session (25th in qualifying). His day turned into a nightmare on the very first lap, with contact with Andreas Kofler (Motorsport Kofler) in the first chicane, forcing him to retire immediately.
Ahead of them, Albert Arenas and Can Oncu battled for the lead from the start, closely followed by Garcia and Filippo Farioli (VFT Racing). Farioli, however, lost considerable time and dropped to 16th place before retiring shortly after. On lap three, Garcia overtook Arenas for second, and the pair began to build a six-tenths-of-a-second gap over the rest of the field by lap five. Valentin Debise (EASTROC ZXMOTO Factory Evan Bros Racing) then moved into fourth position behind them.
On lap 13, Oncu was right behind Garcia, just four-tenths of a second behind, when the GMT94 rider crashed into the gravel, losing his chance at victory. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Arenas and Debise closed in on Oncu, who temporarily regained the lead. The gaps between the top three gradually narrowed until the final lap, when Oncu entered the chicane at turns 12 and 13 too fast, completely losing control. Arenas and then Debise capitalized, overtaking him, with the Frenchman launching a stronger acceleration into the final corner and narrowly taking the win.
Jeremy Alcoba (Kawasaki WorldSSP Team) had his best race of the season: starting from 8th place, he gradually climbed to 4th. Starting from 22nd, Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) reached the top 10 by lap 10, then stayed clear of the final battle at the front to finish in 7th place.
Supersport (WSSP) Balaton Park – Race 1 results:
Supersport standings: WorldSBK.com
