FIRST LOOK: Iker Lecuona gets first taste of Ducati ahead of WorldSBK debut
Iker Lecuona has had his first opportunity to get acquainted with the Ducati Panigale V4 R WorldSBK bike.
Ahead of the first preseason test of the 2026 WorldSBK season, Iker Lecuona has had his first taste of the Ducati Panigale V4 R.
Lecuona joins the Aruba.it Racing Ducati team for the 2026 World Superbike Championship to replace two-time WorldSBK Champion Alvaro Bautista, who moves to Barni Ducati.
After the conclusion of the 2025 season, which saw Lecuona’s 2026 teammate Nicolo Bulega miss out on the title by 13 points to Toprak Razgatlioglu, Lecuona has been able to make the move over from the Honda garage he has occupied since 2022 over to the factory Ducati box to hop on the new-for-2026 Panigale V4 R for the first time.
Lecuona has been able to sit on his new machine and have an initial seat fitting ahead of his debut on the bike at the Jerez test on Tuesday and Wednesday this week (21–22 October), as well as get acquainted with his new team and crew.
Lecuona’s new teammate, Bulega, has already tested the new bike in Italy and at Aragon in late August. Bautista also rode the bike in the Aragon test, and Barni’s Yari Montella has reportedly been able to sample the new machine as well.
For Lecuona, the Jerez test will be his first chance to ride a WorldSBK-spec bike other than the Honda, having remained with the Japanese brand for all four of his seasons in the production derivative championship until now after joining from MotoGP and Tech3 KTM in 2022.
Ducati’s full line-up for the 2026 WorldSBK season has not yet been finalised. As well as those mentioned above, Sam Lowes will remain with Marc VDS for his third WorldSBK campaign and Lorenzo Baldassarri will replace Andrea Iannone at Go Eleven. The Motocorsa Ducati, though, is yet to be filled after the departure of Ryan Vickers.
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Alex joined the Crash.net team in August of 2024 having covered consumer and racing motorcycle news at Visordown for two years.
