SBK Donington: Lecuona comes back down to earth, his first mistake since the triumph

Iker Lecuona’s flight didn’t last long: after the joy of his first Superbike triumph in 140 attempts, the Spaniard squandered the Superpole Race by crashing at Goddards on lap two. A chocolate bonbon served on Nicolò Bulega’s platter, who thus has already gone back to winning. But what a Yari Montella!

The Spaniard once again rocketed off the line, wiping out his teammate’s pole. With Bulega held up by an increasingly convincing Yari Montella, the road to a second win of the weekend seemed wide open. Instead, Lecuona lost the front on entry to the final hairpin, and goodbye dreams of glory. For Nicolò Bulega, though, there was still the Montella matter to settle. The rider from Campania with the Barni team (already confirmed through 2027) led a beautiful three laps at the front of the race. Then the Cannibal decided that was enough, and with a vehement attack at Melbourne he settled the matter. It’s 22 wins in 23 races—the defeat the day before is already erased. Iker Lecuona also jeopardizes race 2: he will have to start from the fourth row, in tenth spot. It’s a crazy wild card for Nicolò, who wouldn’t really need it.

It’s only July, but for the Aruba.it team it’s already time to celebrate the Teams’ World title. There are still four full rounds to go plus the final duel here at Donington, just to underline the kind of dominance the official squad of the Italian brand has recorded. But that’s not all: at the end of race 2 Ducati can also put the more significant Constructors’ title in the trophy case. It’s not the first time the Red has trounced everyone in Superbike, but a championship locked up airtight already in July had never been seen...

For Yari Montella it’s his tenth podium of 2025, a gift-wrapped haul for the best independent on the grid. The podium was completed by Sam Lowes, welcomed in parc fermé by an image of the team owner, Marc van der Straten, shown in a photo by former rider Leon Camier, now a coach rider. The full Ducati contingent started with the same tire choice as the long race, namely SC1 front and soft SCX rear. Meanwhile, those with nothing to lose gambled on qualifying rubber, but it wasn’t enough to get closer to the red starships. Xavi Vierge, with Yamaha, finished eighth, eight seconds adrift of the winner—roughly a second per lap.

After Donington, Superbike will go on a two-month break: we’ll talk again on September 5–6 at Magny-Cours in France. When action resumes there will be just four rounds left: Magny-Cours, Cremona, Estoril, and Jerez. But in the meantime there’s a scorching race 2 on the table: lights out at 16:30 Italian time, to avoid clashing with MotoGP in Germany. Between the two Ducati riders, who will head into the holidays with a smile stamped on their face?

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