Now the critics have been silenced: Iker Lecuona defeated the seemingly unbeatable Bulega

Iker Lecuona has been competing in the World Championship since 2016: first for four years in Moto2, then for two seasons with KTM in MotoGP. In 2022, he moved to the production-based World Superbike Championship and was under contract with the Honda works team for four years, finishing third twice on the underperforming Fireblade.

In the autumn of 2025, his management pulled off a masterstroke and Lecuona took Alvaro Bautista’s place in the Aruba Ducati works team. At the season opener at Phillip Island, he was not yet in top form following a long injury lay-off and without having taken part in winter testing, finishing sixth, ninth and eighth. Back in Europe, he finished each of the following 18 races (!) in second place behind his team-mate Nicolo Bulega, who had won 25 races in a row prior to the British Grand Prix.

Bulega’s fantastic run comes to an end

At Donington Park, Bulega’s fantastic run came to an end, with Lecuona edging him out in a thrilling duel. An hour later, when he met with SPEEDWEEK.com and other media representatives, the Spaniard was remarkably composed. “I don’t feel any different because of it; I’m just happy,” he said. “It’s a good win. I expected Nicolo to overtake me, and after three or four laps he did try. But I managed to stay in front, and that’s when I realised my pace was quite good. It was a new experience for me to be leading. It’s not easy to lead a race; you have to stay calm. In the first half of the race, Nicolo was faster; in the second half, I was. He usually tries to overtake under braking, but I was better in precisely those sections. In the end, I needed to block him to stay ahead of him. It was a great battle; we fought like never before. But we always held something back – after all, we’re team-mates and didn’t want to crash.”

Lecuona: “I’ve no idea what people are on about”

“We’ve taken a step forward; we’ve finally secured a win,” added Iker, who had to wait eleven years for a victory in a World Championship race. His talent had always been obvious to many experts, but it had never been enough to break through to the very top – until this season. “Even if I’d finished second, I could have been happy,” emphasised the 26-year-old. “Because I was on a par with Nicolo and battling it out with him. He’s the benchmark – and I managed to beat him. That’s important to me; we’ve made it. Let’s see if we can continue this momentum on Sunday.”

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Shortly after the birth of his daughter, Lecuona achieved his greatest sporting success; his life could hardly be better at the moment. “Everyone says you lose a second when you have a baby,” he chuckled. “I’ve got faster – I’ve no idea what people are on about.”