Iker Lecuona (Ducati): front-end slides, vibrations and other problems

At the Superbike round at the Circuito do Estoril, Nicolò Bulega got his own back on Iker Lecuona for the defeat the Spaniard had inflicted on him in Cremona. With second places in Superpole and all three races, the 26-year-old enjoyed a good, but by no means outstanding, weekend.

In the second race, the Spaniard fell furthest behind his Aruba.it Ducati team-mate. Whilst he was able to keep up reasonably well in the first half of the race, the gap widened to almost six seconds at times – at the finish line it stood at 4.8 seconds.

“I had major problems. Even in the first half of the race, I had a massive front-wheel slide in Turn 2, which immediately opened up a significant gap to Nicolò. After that, I slowed down a bit,” explained Lecuona on Sunday afternoon. “When it started to drizzle, I turned the pressure on Nicolò up a bit again to see if he might make a mistake or if I could catch up with him. But that didn’t happen. The last five laps were a battle for survival. The knee and elbow sliders are worn out from all the constant front-wheel slides. In the last three laps, I also started experiencing severe vibrations in the rear wheel.”

Willkommen in Estoril

Foto: Gold & Goose

Yari Montella

Foto: Gold & Goose

Miguel Oliveira

Foto: Gold & Goose

Alberto Surra

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Nicolò Bulega

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Lorenzo Baldassarri

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Alex Lowes

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Iker Lecuona

Foto: Gold & Goose

Nicolò Bulega

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Jake Dixon

Foto: Gold & Goose

Yari Montella

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Miguel Oliveira

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Axel Bassani

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Lorenzo Baldassarri

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Álvaro Bautista

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Nicolò Bulega gewinnt beide Läufe in Estoril

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Bulega und Lecuona

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Lecuona, Bulega, Surra

Foto: Gold & Goose

Sieger Nicolò Bulega

Foto: Gold & Goose

Yari Montella

Foto: Gold & Goose

Willkommen in Estoril

© Gold & Goose

Lecuona has already secured the runner-up spot in the 2026 Superbike World Championship. Four wins and 29 podium finishes from 33 races is an outstanding record. Estoril was one of the most difficult weekends for the Ducati factory rider.

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“It was really gruelling and I’m not quite sure why. We didn’t make any progress and didn’t reach the level I’d expected,” mused Lecuona. “Second place is a good result, but I’m not satisfied with our performance. It’s frustrating because we didn’t manage to work out here what was wrong with the bike, the set-up or my riding style. The data will help us in future. Nicolò has the advantage of experience and the insights gained from previous years, even though our bike is new. He always has a clear idea of the direction we need to take, and that’s something I’m still lacking. In Cremona, we had two days of testing beforehand, and that made all the difference.”

What are Lecuona’s expectations for his home race in Jerez? “It’s one of Nicolò’s favourite circuits and I hate it! I’m expecting second-place finishes, but I’ll have to fight for them.”