From Superbike to MotoGP, this time Lecuona has to swallow a bitter pill: the Silverstone verdict

Called in to replace Aldeguer, the Aruba Ducati WorldSBK team rider ended the British GP with a bitter taste in his mouth.

If in Hungary he managed to surprise with seventh place in the long race at the Balaton Park Circuit, at Silverstone he couldn’t repeat it. Iker Lecuona ended the weekend with two retirements following two crashes. For the one in the sprint race he blamed Franco Morbidelli, while for Sunday’s he can only blame himself.

On Saturday he crashed at the start of the sprint in Turn 16, while in the long race the crash came at Turn 12 on lap six, when he was in fourteenth place. It’s certainly a pity we didn’t see where he could have finished, especially on Sunday, given that on Saturday the Ducatis suffered terribly from rear soft tire degradation. With the medium, the situation was better and it would have been interesting to see Lecuona’s potential.

Called up by the BK8 Gresini team to replace Fermin Aldeguer, the Superbike World Championship rider said he was bitter about how a weekend that isn’t all bad ended: “A real shame to leave this weekend without points. Saturday went how it went; on Sunday we weren’t lucky. I ran a bit wide at the entry to Turn 13 and, ending up in the dirty part, I lost the front in an instant. A harmless slide that leaves a bitter taste after a really positive Friday and Saturday. What remains is the great experience with this team, with whom I felt fantastic once again. I’m really sorry.”

Free practice had given him the confidence to put in a good race, especially after the surprising tenth time in qualifying. Taking advantage of Franco Morbidelli’s slipstream, he managed to go from Q1 to Q2, where he stayed ahead of Jack Miller and Joan Mir. He was a positive surprise on Saturday morning, but then he wasn’t able to finish either of the two MotoGP races at Silverstone.

He had no pressure and no specific results to achieve, but he wanted a different ending. Now Lecuona can return to vacation, since World Superbike will resume only on the September 4–6 weekend at Magny-Cours (France). Aldeguer is expected to return to the BK8 Gresini Ducati Desmosedici GP25 at the next Grand Prix in Aragon (August 28–30).

Iker wants to add more wins to the one he took in Race 1 at Donington Park, where he ended his teammate Nicolò Bulega’s winning streak and claimed his first WorldSBK victory. Beating Bulega again will help him gain further confidence and prepare for a 2027 in which he will be a favorite for the title fight.

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