Portimao FP3: Lecuona strikes first, BMW steps up

Iker Lecuona has woken up: Ducati’s new signing was blazing fast in the third and final World Superbike practice session at Portimão. BMW is also getting a move on with Miguel Oliveira: just special effects or something serious?

The last slice of free practice, just twenty minutes available, was more than anything a general test for Superpole. In the final minutes many fitted fresh soft rubber, “polluting” the timesheets which for much of the session had the usual Nicolò Bulega on top. Among the leading riders, he was the only one to simulate a (half) race, naturally with very interesting pace, in the very low 1’40s and a final push at 1’40”795, in race trim.

The practice times must be interpreted, and there’s no doubt that Bulega—despite the minor setup doubts he mentioned at the end of Friday—remains the clear favorite. Iker Lecuona, however, on the other factory Panigale V4 R, lapped extremely fast, approaching the absolute track record set last year by Toprak Razgatlioglu: 1’39”186 compared to the Turkish ace’s 1’39”081.

Lecuona put half a second on Yari Montella, who continues his climb to the top of the World Championship. We talked about it here, here’s the deep dive. Third fastest for Miguel Oliveira’s BMW, 1’39”622, decidedly better than the previous day. “But my ideal lap time was already decent, so the full potential hadn’t shown,” the Portuguese rider confides. “In Superpole I hope to secure a spot in the first two rows; that would be a great starting base.” The benchmark is not only Nicolò Bulega, but also the three wins Razgatlioglu took with BMW at this track last year. With the same bike, Danilo Petrucci isn’t taking off, but—unlike his teammate—he may have focused more on race pace. Superpole (12:15 CET) will clear up a few doubts.