Bulega angry, Lecuona beaming: 'This is the Ducati I want'

The Spanish rider got off to a strong start in Italy; the goal is to win and postpone Bulega’s title celebration as much as possible.

The round at the Cremona Circuit should be the one where Nicolò Bulega is crowned 2026 Superbike World Champion, but Iker Lecuona didn’t come to Lombardy just to watch his teammate’s party. His intentions are clear, as he showed by topping the timesheets in both FP1 and FP2.

Bulega crashed in both sessions, while the Spaniard had no mishaps and seems to have found a strong technical base to fight for victory at the SBK weekend in Italy. Clearly, he knows full well his teammate will respond and won’t make things easy, even without needing to push over the limit: the world title is basically his.

The former Honda HRC rider can only be satisfied with how his Friday of free practice at the Cremona Circuit went: "I’m really happy with the work we did. I like this circuit and I have extra motivation this weekend. In the morning I felt good on the bike, but still with some issues and not consistent enough. We needed to try something different. In FP2 it went better and on the second run I felt for the first time that I had the Ducati I want: with margin, without being on the limit to set good lap times."

Despite Bulega suffering two crashes and finishing behind him on the timesheets, Lecuona cannot underestimate the dominator of the 2026 Superbike World Championship: "It’s strange to see Nicolò crashing — he explains — but he was still the second fastest and we have a similar pace. Even if it looks like I have a little something extra, he’s right there. I don’t know if I’m the favorite to win or not, but I’ll definitely try. In Superpole it will be important to secure the front row."

Iker has won only once this year and, in general, in his WorldSBK career. Race 1 at Donington Park was the only time we saw him on the top step of the podium, and his goal is to add more victories; doing it in Italy would be special, and his start looks very promising.

While Lecuona is smiling after SBK free practice, Bulega looks a bit stern, though optimistic about improving his situation for the rest of the weekend: "Today the feeling wasn’t the best; I couldn’t ride the way I wanted. Maybe we know why and we’re working on it with the team; I’m confident I’ll get back to my performance level tomorrow. There was something I didn’t like on the bike today, but I think we know how to get it into the condition that lets me push the way I want."

Although he’s aware of his teammate’s potential, the championship leader also knows his own well and is waiting for Saturday to show once again that he’s number 1 in Superbike: "Iker was fast at Cremona even with the Honda last year; he really likes this track. He was strong today, but if I can ride at 100% I can stay with him. Saturday important for the title? Right now I’m just angry about this Friday and focused on getting my usual feeling back, then I’ll think about the rest..." It’s not time yet to think about the world champion’s crown.

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