Iker Lecuona flashback in Balaton MotoGP pile-up: “I saw the danger”
Iker Lecuona reacted quickly to Jorge Martin's MotoGP mistake after memories of last year's Balaton WorldSBK accident.
Iker Lecuona said memories of last year's nasty WorldSBK accident at Balaton Park immediately came flooding back when he saw Jorge Martin lose control into Turn 1 on Sunday.
The Spaniard was among the innocent victims of a seven-rider WorldSBK pile-up at the circuit last season, suffering a broken arm in the process.
Making his Gresini Ducati debut as Alex Marquez's replacement in the Hungarian MotoGP, Lecuona recognised the warning signs early and reacted by pulling in the clutch and slowing dramatically as the incident unfolded ahead.
“When I saw Martin did the first bite on the braking, myself and everyone around me braked a lot because we knew some danger is coming,” Lecuona explained.
“Because he had that [shaking] into the corner, on tarmac that was very tricky.”
Asked if the incident triggered flashbacks to his WorldSBK crash, Lecuona replied:
“Yeah, honestly, for that reason, when I saw the movement from Martin, I braked, pulled the clutch and just stopped the bike,” he said.
“Because last year I broke my arm here, not by my fault.
“Also, for that reason, when I saw that mistake, I feel maybe it's a red flag. When it wasn’t I knew everyone was fine.”
Lecuona completed the opening lap in 13th place before launching an impressive recovery ride.
The former Tech3 KTM rider moved into the top ten, inherited eighth when Joan Mir crashed, then passed Jack Miller on the final lap to secure seventh place.
It was Lecuona’s best MotoGP finish since Silverstone 2021.
“It was really good to come back to MotoGP with the top 7. Really, really happy, honestly,” Lecuona grinned.
“I did some overtaking, fighting, I went wide a few more times than I expected, so I lost a lot of time when I needed to catch Miller. But when I arrived to him on the last lap, I knew I needed to overtake!
“I'm very grateful for the opportunity, so again, I need to say thanks to Ducati, Gresini and Aruba.
“Honestly, I saw my speed, my potential. We were never in last here, so just thanks to the guys.”
Brno still unclear
Lecuona now returns to WorldSBK action at Misano, where he sits second in the championship behind Ducati team-mate Nicolo Bulega.
Whether he will return to MotoGP duty for the following Brno round depends on Alex Marquez’s fitness.
“I don't know. For now, I need to focus my recovery on the body for Misano [WorldSBK], then let's see,” he said.
“I hope Alex can come back again. For now, honestly, I don't know anything [about Brno].
“I only knew last Monday about coming here, so maybe until the last moment, I won’t know if I go to Brno or not.”
Team-mate Fermin Aldeguer was among the riders taken down in Martin’s accident at Turn 1.
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