How Did Can Öncü Wrap Up the Jerez Finale? The Season Is Over in WSSP

With the second race held at Jerez closing out the World Supersport Championship, Can Öncü finished the overall standings 263 in fourth place. In the season finale, Jaume Masia won Race 2 while Öncü finished fourth; Öncü lost the advantage he held for third place at Magny-Cours to Masia in the closing stages, and Albert Arenas won the championship.

Jerez Finale: Masia Wins, Öncü Fourth

The final race of the season was held at the Spanish circuit named after Ángel Nieto and, as had long been predicted, it settled the calculations in the lower reaches of the points table. Jaume Masia took victory in Race 2, while Can Öncü took fourth place. That result crowned Öncü's fourth place in the overall standings as well.

The Jerez weekend cannot be summed up for Öncü by a single race. In Saturday's opening race he managed to make the podium and finish third; Albert Arenas won that race, with Jeremy Alcoba second. In other words, he went out on Sunday still as one of the names with a mathematical chance before the finale. But things did not go as expected in Race 2, and the goal of third place could not hold out against Masia.

The bitter side of this is as follows: Öncü took pole position five times and made the podium eight times throughout the season. This record turning into a fourth place is a result that hints at the consistency of his rivals. In particular, Masia's recovery in the second half of the season was the factor that completely changed the battle for third.

Turning Point of the Season: The Magny-Cours Victory

The brightest page of the 2026 season came from France. In the first race at Magny-Cours, Öncü started from 13th place and managed to win Sunday's race; it was the first victory of the season and, after the French round, he settled into the third-place seat. In the second race of the same weekend, he finished fourth.

Before France, the points gap between Öncü and Masia was 17. In other words, on paper third place was in Öncü's hands. We know the outcome that followed: not only did the gap close, the order was reversed. In the past, a points advantage in the last three races of the season was almost half a guarantee; now a rival coming from the lower half of the grid, consistently collecting points, can turn it around within two weekends. The depth of the Supersport field has increased beyond comparison with the past.

In What Position Did Can Öncü Finish the Season? A Comparison of the Last Three Years

Putting Öncü's recent trajectory onto the points table is useful for placing the 2026 season correctly. In 2025, the most productive period of his career, he was runner-up, and in 2022 he had a world championship third-place medal. This year's fourth place reads as a step down in that picture.

To be honest, the table should be read both ways. On one side there is the decline in points and standings; on the other, the consistency in qualifying performance. Five poles, ahead of the four in 2025. So there is no loss in single-lap pace; the loss is in consistency across race weekends. Take it from someone who has been around this business a long time: what determines the standings is being able to take points on Sunday. Pole and victory are a bonus on top of the result.

How Did the Points Battle with Masia End?

What makes the third-place battle interesting is that the two rivals built their seasons in completely different ways. The front-runner advanced with poles and regular podiums, while Masia, though fading in the first half, came alive toward the end and closed the account with his Race 2 victory at Jerez. After France, the 17-point advantage eroding in the final races is the short story of how third place was lost.

There is consolation for the front-runner too: it is not a memory of finishing the season's first race at Assen with victories as he recorded in later years, but the win at Magny-Cours showed that the momentum caught with Evan Bros last year also carried over to the Ten Kate seat. Fourth place is a result that will please no one; but it is not destruction, it is a deficit that needs recovering.

Champion Albert Arenas: Who Owned the Races?

Albert Arenas won the 2026 championship, and the Spanish rider became the second Spaniard to hold this title in World Supersport history. He came into the finale by also winning the first race at Jerez; second place went to Jeremy Alcoba. That race, which the front-runner closed in third, was a full celebration for the home names.

Looking at the overall picture, the superiority in the championship was not the product of a single race or a single weekend, but of the ability to keep the points tally high throughout the season. This recalls a pattern similar to what Öncü experienced in 2025 against Stefano Manzi: there are individual brilliance moments, but the rival's week-by-week discipline of taking points prevails.

Two Names from Türkiye: Öncü and Sofuoğlu's Jerez Day

Two names represented Türkiye in the season finale: Can Öncü and Bahattin Sofuoğlu. While Öncü made the podium in the first race, Sofuoğlu finished Jerez's first race in 23rd place. This experience, which could be considered the young rider's first season, should be read as an adjustment period for the years ahead. In Supersport's crowded and tough grid, the first year's task is to accumulate points and knowledge.

On Öncü's side, how the first year of the team change concluded is also worth noting. Having spent 2025 in second place with Evan Bros Yamaha, Yamaha YZF-R9 with which Öncü enjoyed the most consistent period of his career, he started this year in Ten Kate colors. For riders, a team change always means a period of adaptation; it would not be wrong to think that this adaptation cost played a part in this year's fourth place.

The Chart at Season's Close: The Question of Whether Öncü Took Third Place

Let's give the clearest answer to the question in the headline: a third place did not come this season. In Öncü's championship history, third place is a record belonging to the 2022 season; in 2025 he took second. He closed 2026 in fourth place. This season, which ended with five poles, eight podiums, and one win, is not weak numerically; but expectations had locked onto third place after the victory in France.

Now it is worth listing briefly what we learned:

• Jaume Masia won the final race at Jerez; Öncü finished fourth.
• Öncü finished the season with 263 points in fourth place in the overall standings.
• The champion Albert Arenas; Spain's second world champion in Supersport.
• Öncü's only win of the season came at Magny-Cours.

The work to be done in the remaining time until winter is to correct the picture drawn by the numbers. Single-lap pace is in place; five poles are the simplest proof of that. What is missing is the discipline of never giving up points on Sundays. Let us note, as someone who has been watching this business for years: championships are won by the winner of the most boring Sunday, not the brightest race. The only thing Öncü needs to do for next season is not to leave those boring Sundays to his rivals.

Sources

• Can Öncü finished the World Supersport Championship in 4th place – Sporx
• WSSP Jerez Race 2: Masia won, Can Öncü fourth! – Motorsport.com TR
• Can Öncü 3rd in the first half of the World Supersport at Jerez – Sondakika
• Razgatlıoğlu and Öncü in the World Rankings – TMF
• Can Öncü took the first win of the season at Magny-Cours – MotoEtkinlik
• World Supersport Season Finale in Spain! – Uşak Haber Gazetesi (TMF)
• 2025 season-end points table – TRT Spor Yıldız
• WorldSSP News – Arenas 2026 champion – WorldSBK.com
• Can Öncü performance report card 2025–2026 – Diabolica Instagram