Aragon Superpole: Debise Misses Pole by Just 0.015 Seconds in Scorching Qualifying

On a sweltering Friday afternoon at MotorLand Aragon, where track temperatures soared to 52°C, the FIM Supersport World Championship delivered one of its most dramatic qualifying sessions of the 2026 season. When the chequered flag fell on the Tissot Superpole session, the gap between pole position and second place was a mere 0.015 seconds — roughly the length of a motorcycle's front tyre.

On the right side of that margin was Albert Arenas, the championship leader from Spain, who delighted the home crowd with a buzzer-beating lap of 1:53.142. On the wrong side — by the width of a fingernail — was ZXMOTO's Valentin Debise, whose own last-gasp effort of 1:53.157 had seemed certain to secure pole until Arenas crossed the line milliseconds later.

The Session Unfolds

Debise, who claimed his maiden WorldSSP victory at this very circuit the previous season, initially appeared to be struggling with the extreme heat. For much of the session, his times hovered outside the top five as riders wrestled with grip levels on the 5.077 km Spanish circuit.

But with the clock winding down, the Frenchman found another gear. In the dying seconds of the session, he strung together a near-perfect lap to post a 1:53.157 — a time that briefly stood as provisional pole. The ZXMOTO garage erupted. The celebration lasted approximately fifteen seconds.

Then Arenas crossed the line. 1:53.142. The timing screens flickered. The home crowd roared. Debise, watching from parc fermé, could only shrug.

A Front-Row Start

Despite the heartbreak of missing pole by the narrowest of margins, the result was a strong statement from ZXMOTO heading into race day. Starting from the front row alongside Arenas and Roberto Garcia (Yamaha), Debise positioned himself perfectly for a podium challenge in Race 1.

"The bike felt great in the end," Debise told reporters. "We were struggling a bit with the heat, finding the right setup. But that last lap — everything clicked. I thought I had it. Then Albert did what Albert does."

The front-row grid slot was particularly significant given the chaotic nature of the session. Turn 1 claimed multiple victims, including Can Oncu, Tom Booth-Amos, Matteo Ferrari, and Lucas Mahias — all of whom crashed at the same corner while pushing for fast times. Oncu was subsequently handed a penalty for setting a fastest sector under yellow flags, sending him to the back of the grid.

Championship Context

Coming into Aragon, Debise sat second in the riders' standings with 147 points — 19 behind Arenas — riding a wave of momentum from his dominant Czech Round double victory. The Superpole result, while not the pole position the team had hoped for, nevertheless represented ZXMOTO's best qualifying performance since the season opener at Phillip Island.

With Race 1 scheduled for Saturday and Race 2 on Sunday, Debise and the EASTROC ZXMOTO Factory Evan Bros Racing team would have two opportunities to convert the front-row start into meaningful championship points.