Alessandro Zaccone: Growth, fall and rise until reaching the WorldSSP

His first experiences on the world stage, several years in Moto2 and MotoE, a world championship title and, in 2026, a new challenge represented by the FIM Supersport World Championship, as a rider of the Althea Racing team.

Alessandro Zaccone has experienced a true rollercoaster over all these years on the international stage, with great achievements but also challenges and extremely difficult seasons, particularly the one he lived in the Moto2 World Championship with the Gresini Racing team in 2022. However, the rider from Romagna, born in 1999, has always known how to make the most of opportunities and bounce back from difficult periods, up to the point he became MotoE World Champion in 2025 with the Aruba.it team. Moreover, this year he has already claimed his first WorldSSP victory at Motorland Aragón, with an emotional Race 1 win dedicated to Genesio Bevilacqua (owner of the Althea team, who passed away at the beginning of the year).

At the Supersport World Championship round in Most (therefore before the win mentioned above), Palmen in Motorradsport had the opportunity to interview Alessandro Zaccone, to talk about this year and the last few seasons in general, as well as a look toward the future.

Alessandro, how is the 2026 season going? And what do you expect from this year?

We started quite well, because we have already had some good races and many top ten finishes. We also had a great race at Assen, where we were even leading. However, we are still carrying the consequences of not having been able to work during the winter, because of the weather. Also, I had not ridden a Supersport bike since 2017, so I am still in the adaptation phase and getting used to the Ducati. We definitely want to keep improving. We have also had some less favorable tracks, such as Balaton Park and Most, but we are trying to keep progressing from now until the end of the championship.

Is there a particular result you are aiming for?

We all race to win, there is no doubt about that. But achieving a few podiums this year would already be great (and then the victory at Motorland Aragón came, ed).

Looking back at 2025, what can you say about your title in the MotoE World Championship?

It was certainly a fantastic year, where we worked well and we were consistent in every race, even in those where we couldn't fight for the win. It was a great campaign. We worked very well with the Aruba.it Racing Team, and everything came together the way it needed to in order to achieve this result.

When did you start realizing that you could win the title?

Honestly, only after Race 1 at Portimão. After the previous round at Misano, I had taken the championship lead for the first time. However, Portimão is a track where I had never had great races, so I was not expecting much at the start. On top of that, it was a very difficult weekend, as I didn't feel well physically, so we were not very optimistic from a championship perspective.

But, despite all that, in Race 1 I probably had one of the strongest races of my career, where I won and gained points on my championship rivals. That was the moment when I told myself, “OK, we can make it!” There were many riders in contention, so winning it was far from guaranteed.

What was the celebration like, after winning the title?

It felt like a switch being turned off. All the tension from an entire season just disappeared after the checkered flag...Emotions that are so intense that it's hard to describe them and even to remember them clearly. I hope to experience that feeling again very soon.

At this point, what's your goal for the coming seasons?

First of all, I want to become consistently competitive from now until the end of the year. We have already had a good first part of the season, where we have generally been in strong positions. And today, in the WorldSSP, already finishing in the top ten means that you are fast. From there to winning, many other things have to come together, but our goal is to build a solid foundation for 2027, a year in which we want to fight for victories and podiums. And maybe even for the title...

A "job-interview style" question: where do you picture yourself in five years?

It would be very nice to end up in a factory team in World Superbike, that's for sure. But first I need to work well now, and then we will see.

On your career, you raced in the Supersport World Championship (only in the European rounds, ed) and before that in the European Superstock 600 Championship, all between 2015 and 2017. How is Alessandro Zaccone today compared to then, apart from being older?

I was about to say it: I am older! (laughs, ed) Apart from that, I am definitely a much more mature rider than I was back then, when I was still very young and competing in my first races outside Italy. Just think that when I raced in the European Supersport Championship, with Kawasaki and Team Italia, I was 17 years old, so I was very young and still somewhat inconsistent.

Today I am certainly smarter, more mature, and I have a more refined working method, which is the result of many years racing in world championships. However, I kind of miss the fearlessness of those years, when you are young and always send it, even if it means taking risks and crashing. I do not know whether it's a good thing or not, but that's definitely the biggest difference.

You then spent a long time on a Moto2, first in the European Championship and then, for one season, in the World Championship. What memories do you have of those years?

The years in the European Moto2 Championship were good years. We were always competitive and won several races (he scored three wins and finished third in 2020, ed). The Moto2 World Championship season, on the other hand, was probably the worst year of my career for a variety of reasons. I even thought about retiring at the end of the year, because I was utterly disappointed by that season, but fortunately we recovered well in MotoE.

It hurts because those are the opportunities you work your whole life for, and for which you, your family, and many other people make sacrifices. Not being able to take advantage of that opportunity because of certain circumstances was truly frustrating. But, as I said before, I am happy that I was able to reinvent myself and also put the idea of quitting out of my mind.

As a rider who had achieved excellent results in the Moto2 European Championship and in MotoE as well, how did you experience such a difficult season?

It was very bad, because I knew we could do more, but because of "third parties" I was unable to express my potential. When that happens, it is frustrating because it is like going to war without weapons. Hervé Poncharal gave me tremendous support when he brought me back to MotoE, and during the two years we spent together he always had complete trust in me, even when I struggled a bit at the beginning. He brought me back to winning, so meeting Hervé was fundamental for me.

Working with people who completely trust you is extremely important, of course.

Exactly. When you work with a team where you feel like you are a burden, it is a terrible feeling. Fortunately, I later found people who cared deeply about me and believed in me. Those people helped me rebuild myself. This applies to Poncharal, as well as to when I joined the Aruba team. Serafino Foti and Stefano Cecconi truly treated me like a son, giving me complete freedom in many areas.

Do you still have a small door open toward Grand Prix racing, or do you now want to focus entirely on the WorldSBK?

Everyone likes MotoGP, and it's the dream that pushes many children to start racing. However, I must say that I really like the WorldSBK paddock, which feels very human and authentic. Moreover, at the Althea Racing Team I found people who are truly passionate, which is becoming rare nowadays, especially in MotoGP.

Honestly, I would like to build a career in the WorldSBK paddock: I want to perform well, find a good Superbike team and build the second part of my career here. I have not abandoned the MotoGP paddock, but right now it is not a priority, especially because I wouldn't want to have another disappointing experience like the one in Moto2.

Clearly, you want to enjoy racing, and be in an environment where you feel appreciated and heard.

Exactly. 2022 should have been the best year of my life. I reached the Moto2 World Championship thanks to many people who helped me, but also without being the son of a former racer and without coming from a wealthy family. We know that only a few riders out of thousands ever make it there. It was supposed to be a dream, and instead it turned into a nightmare. So it is better to stay where you feel good and have peace of mind.

What do you remember about your first races in the European Superstock 600 Championship with Talmácsi Racing, back in 2015?

Gábor Talmácsi (125cc World Champion in 2007, ed) signed me when I was racing in the Honda CBR600RR Cup in Italy, because we didn't have enough budget to race in the Moto3 class. I was young, only 15 years old, but I immediately won all the early races and I could set the same lap times as in the CIV as wekk. So, they signed me to race in the European Superstock 600 Championship.

I remember the first race at Misano. The Stock 600 class was incredibly competitive, with around 40 riders and many strong ones among them. But I immediately achieved a good top 10 result. We were very happy, and so I ended up finishing the season with them. It was a great experience for me because, at 15 years old, I still saw everything much more as a game, and I also got along really well with the team.

Are you still in contact with Gábor Talmácsi?

Yes, we are still in touch, and he texts me every time I achieve a good result. We also met in Hungary, when I raced at Balaton Park.

In conclusion, I would like you to share a memory of Genesio Bevilacqua, owner of the Althea Racing team, who sadly passed away.

For many years we had been looking at the possibility of working together, and he also came and congratulated me whenever I had a good race, even when I was in Superstock 600. The possibility of racing for his team had been in the air for many years, and this year we finally managed to put everything together and reach an agreement. Unfortunately, we know what happened then, and I am very sorry that he is no longer with us.

It would have been wonderful to have him here with us, work together and get to know each other more deeply, also because he was a strong personality and a very important figure in this paddock. We will try to give our 200% to achieve something good in his honor (as also happened with the victory at Motorland Aragón, ed).

Palmen in Motorradsport thanks Alessandro Zaccone for his availability and Moreno Coppola of the Althea Racing team for making the interview possible. Best wishes to both rider and team for the upcoming races and seasons, in the name of Genesio Bevilacqua.