SBK: Lecuona chases the missing tenths; he's not ready to win yet

Bulega still too strong for Lecuona, who can’t do better than second place in the SBK round at the TT Circuit—but the Spaniard isn’t worried.

Six consecutive podiums between Portimao and Assen for Iker Lecuona, a regular in second place due to the dominance of his teammate Nicolò Bulega. Compared to Portugal, he managed to put up a bit more of a fight in the early stages of Superbike Race 1 and Race 2: in both cases he passed him off the line, only to be overtaken and forced to settle for second.

Considering that back in his Honda days he wasn’t used to fighting for the very front, the Spaniard can be satisfied with how he has started his new adventure with the Aruba Ducati team. Of course, he wants to beat Bulega, but right now he doesn’t need to obsess over that goal. Sooner or later he’ll manage it. In the meantime, he’s doing his job.

Lecuona is fairly pleased with how his weekend at Assen went, another chance to get to know the Ducati Panigale V4 R better and figure out how to ride it more effectively: "We did a good job. In the Superpole Race we made a small step with the bike, but it wasn’t enough and we made some changes for Race 2. We tried something we had never tried. It was a risk, but on Saturday I had destroyed the front tire. In the end it went quite well, even though I had two moments where I nearly crashed and I lost 5–6 tenths. Anyway, I’m happy. Nicolò is still a bit faster than me, I know this is one of his best tracks. We’ll see if we can swap positions in the next races."

The Valencian rider is missing a few tenths to be able to really fight with Bulega, but he’s fairly calm and confident he can make progress in the upcoming Superbike rounds: "My best lap was about two tenths slower than his. In Race 2 I was closer than in Race 1 and the Superpole Race. Every time I ride I learn something, even if it’s not yet 100% my bike and I don’t feel completely ready to fight for the win. The important thing is that I’m learning and improving, I got another hat-trick of second places and I’m second in the championship."

The next round of the 2026 SBK World Championship is at Balaton Park, on a circuit that Bulega considers not ideal for his riding style. In Hungary he might be more vulnerable, but it’s not a given. Lecuona will certainly look to improve further and be ready in case his teammate isn’t as dominant as he has been in the first three rounds.

Bulega has also drawn level with Toprak Razgatlioglu for consecutive wins (13) in Superbike, and by winning Race 1 at Balaton Park he would set a new record. Even if he doesn’t seem too interested in statistics, he wouldn’t mind setting a new benchmark. We’ll see if Lecuona can play a little “trick” on him by stopping him from reaching 14 and taking his own first SBK victory. We await the weekend of May 1–3.