Jeremy Alcoba (Tortosa, 2001) Made history at the Superbike World Championship held in Estoril last weekend. Achieved by a Catalan pilotOr, he rose from 25th to 3rd place in the Supersport category, earning his first podium of his career. That’s something no one has ever accomplished.

A joy that Alcoba herself explained to us as necessary, like a meal. He had to leave the Moto2 World Championship, where it was very difficult to achieve results, but the change did not suit him. The doubts grew day by day, but when he least expected it, a reason for hope came that could decide his future.

“It wasn’t clear at all. I’m the only Kawasaki on the grid, but on Friday we made a mistake. We couldn’t compare to anyone and it was a very bad day. So it complicated everything.” It was very “gritty”. Let’s see if I don’t know how to ride a motorcycle anymore, he said. Things like this happen in this sport. “One day you’re at your best and the next day you’re at your worst.”

“I was able to make a super comeback on Saturday (finishing 7th) and was very proud. Sunday it all started with the formation lap and I’m on the tires from the previous race. When I see myself feeling great, I think, ‘Watch out, I might do the same thing as yesterday’. But the first lap was much harder for me. I had 10 laps left and I was still 15th. But the first lap was much harder for me. I had incredible pace and was able to achieve my fastest lap. And for the first time in many years, I was lucky. Two laps after fourth place, the third place rider’s gear broke. ”

“The feeling was incredible, because Kawasaki hadn’t been on the podium in two years, and I hadn’t been on the podium in four years. “I promised myself I had to get on the podium this season and I finally achieved it.”

It was a tough year because expectations were high.

It hasn’t been an easy year for Alcoba. Because he came from the Moto2 World Championship, where there was no room for him to continue, but with clear signs that he was one of the riders to follow in the fight for the SSP title. However, the project they pitched him did not turn out to be entirely true, and with this lack of results, trust between both sides is decreasing with each race.

”It was tough because the bike was sold to me because it was a new and competitive bike.. That contributed to the victory. But the truth is, this year’s bike isn’t for that. Everyone took a step forward. Ducati has grown from being the dominant motorcycle to being the number 3 motorcycle. For example, this year there are always four or five Yamahas in the top five.”

“I keep thinking I’m the best in this category and I always think I can match that gap, but at some circuits the gap is too big and I’m struggling to get into the points from Moto2 where I was running in the top five or top 10. What usually doesn’t suit me is coming into this championship and being 15th. It’s not like it was the same, it was worse at a different level. The level was high in Moto2 and it was tough to see myself in a bad position. I knew something was wrong, but No matter how bad the situation is, you have to compete in the top five, and there were races where I was able to do that because I was 15th.

“And the teams that come from outside don’t know you and sometimes they point fingers at you. I knew it wasn’t me. Each one defends his own and creates a bit of conflict,” said the player from Tortosa.

A future full of uncertainty

The problem for Alcoba is that the future is too uncertain. The 23-year-old pilot acknowledges the situation is complex. The best seats in each championship are already filled and he has nothing. He’s not going to throw in the towel because it’s clear he has the potential for a good contract in front of him. However, it is by no means easy.

“For now, my future is still up in the air. I’m trying to download LinkedIn because I don’t have any. The team doesn’t trust me very much.. I find this a little disappointing because I know our potential but they don’t understand the difficulties that are there. It’s being sold as a new bike, but it’s a 2009 bike, so there have been some collisions over who was at fault. The easy thing to do would be to throw it at the rider, but since I’m the only Kawasaki rider, there’s no way to prove I’m OK. You can’t compare. All you have to do is keep quiet. It’s true that at one point another driver came to the race and fell far behind. Or sometimes in private tests, when drivers from other brands tested and they got on the podium with other brands, I stole a second from them. ”

“Right now everything is up in the air. We had a very disappointing period this summer as we could see the end coming and the results were not coming. To continue in the Supersport Championship they asked for money and going back to Moto2 was also complicated. In both cases they could ask for up to 400,000 euros. I want to compete in Superbike because I know I have the potential to move up. But hey, if it’s bad, you can stay in Supersport, but the good bikes are either full or the other bikes will ask you a lot of money. It’s very complicated. Nevertheless, the best results are being achieved. ”

The situation for the team was very tense and in Aragon they went into the box in despair at Kawasaki’s poor performance. He went from being at the front to 22nd place and that’s when he said enough was enough. He describes himself as a very sentimental person, for better or for worse. “I apologized because it wasn’t my style, but I had my reasons.” In the next round, the story had an even better ending. Next year will tell whether it will be enough to keep the roads in place, or whether Alcoba will look for alternatives. “I hope this podium will expand my position next year.”.

Difficult jump from Moto2 to WorldSBK

Jeremy competed in the MotoGP World Championship for seven seasons, completing five of them. 4 podiums in the Moto3 category, 3 more podiums and 3 more podiums in the Moto2 category.. In his final year, the Catalan had to pack his bags as he had no other choice as the Yamaha VR46 Master Camp team lowered the blinds. The change wasn’t easy, but it had the potential to be a good role, and I found motivation in it after giving up my lifelong dream.

“That’s right. Moto2 and Moto3 are dreams to fulfill the super dream of reaching MotoGP. I took it as a challenge and a means of work. It’s true that I ride a bike and do what I like, but If you came to MotoGP knowing that you were very good, but that it wasn’t going to be good…even if they paid you a lot of money, you would change everything to try to win at least one week.. That’s the mentality I had. ”

“We said, ‘There are complications that are beyond our control, so we’ll leave it here.'” Theoretically, if you finished in the top three you could move up to Superbike. I was motivated to fight against the best players like Toprak and Brega. This is not MotoGP, but Superbike, another top category with very good riders. What I want is to be able to fight them.. MotoGP was like a dream. I don’t think it’s impossible as there are riders like Toprak who go from SBK to MotoGP, but with a Spanish passport it becomes more complicated. I see it as a job and a challenge. The idea of ​​reaching Superbike one day is because I think I can do it, and if I get from there to MotoGP, I would welcome it, even if it’s just a test,” he concluded.

The great thing about chatting with a driver like Alcoba is that you can discuss concepts without hesitation, where you would normally have to tiptoe around. Not so with the Tortosa pilot. He says what he thinks without arguing. Now it’s time to see if his way of understanding racing can find solutions for a future that is still unknown. What is clear is that he has speed. Not everyone signs on the Estoril podium. There’s a reason why no player in the history of Supersport has ever managed such a comeback.