The Czech WorldSBK factor Iker Lecuona hopes will help him to first victory

Ducati WorldSBK rider Iker Lecuona is counting on wet weather to assist him in Czechia as he continues to seek a first victory in the class.

Lecuona first moved to WorldSBK back in 2022 after two years in MotoGP, but has so far achieved a best result of second. The Spaniard has, in fact, been second in each of the last nine races, beaten on each occasion by his teammate, Nicolo Bulega, who has won the last 16 races in succession and leads the riders’ standings by 82 points over Lecuona.

A first victory for Lecuona would be his first in circuit racing in a major championship, the 26-year-old having not won at either European or World Championship level in Moto2, nor in MotoGP before arriving in WorldSBK.

One thing Lecuona is sure will help him this weekend is the prospect of rain, which is forecast for Friday and Saturday in particular at Most this weekend. 

Bulega has won both of the rain-affected races so far this year, in Australia and the Netherlands, but was notably hesitant in the latter, when rain began to fall mid-race when everyone was on slicks.

This, Lecuona thinks, is something he could take advantage of.

“Yes, 100 per cent,” Iker Lecuona said when asked by WorldSBK.com if mixed conditions could help him beat Bulega at Most.

“First because I like those tricky conditions, I always take some profit. 

“About the rest, of course all the English riders also have that extra confidence because for those guys it’s something more normal from me. 

“But I have always extra push in that weather, and like I say, in Assen, when the rain arrived, Nicolo thought more about the championship, I thought more about my first victory, or just to enjoy. 

“I don’t think about the championship right now, so for me it’s maybe more easy compared to Nicolo.”

Lecuona also feels he has been getting closer to the level of Bulega in recent races, and is hopeful he can take the final step to the top of the podium in Most this weekend (15–17 May).

“It’s a track that normally I go quite fast, in the past,” Lecuona said.

“I have good results here, so let’s see what I can achieve with the Ducati. 

“Of course, I want to find a victory, I think every race, every time I jump on the bike I get more close to Nicolo [Bulega], so let’s see.”

Lecuona had been closer than ever to Bulega in terms of pace at Balaton two weeks ago, but physical problems held him back at the end of Race 2, which seemed to be his best chance to win having been able to improve his grid position from fifth to second in the Superpole Race.

“Every time I jump on the bike I go faster and the confidence with my bike increases a lot,” he said.

“Even Sunday, the problem for me is my physical, I struggle a lot from Thursday when I was sick. So, the last five laps in Race 2 in Balaton I started to close a little bit the throttle because I started to make some mistakes by myself because I’m not focused, so if not I finish close to one second or 1.5 seconds [behind Bulega]. 

“But I need to say that the lap times and the pace that we go in the race was extremely fast, so even if I’m close to him I don’t know if I have the capacity to fight with him and to try to overtake in a safe area.

“For sure my confidence increased after the Balaton race, let’s see if here we can fight. I don’t know if I win, but at least I try.”

2027 talks: “I don’t have any news”

Off-track, things are uncertain for Lecuona. He joined the factory Ducati team on a one-year contract, so his future beyond the end of this season is to be decided. 

Talks about next year are ongoing, and unsurprisingly Lecuona is keen to stay with the Aruba.it team.

“The update I can say is my manager came to Balaton,” Lecuona said.

“I now have a meeting with Ducati, with Serafino [Foti, Aruba.it Racing Team manager] and Stefano [Cecconi, CEO of Aruba.it]. I don’t have any news.”

He added: ‘Plan A’ is continue with the team. I think also the team want to continue with me, but I don’t know the details – one year, two years, five years, I don’t know. 

“I think after Aragon, that we have a few weeks free, maybe I have a meeting with my manager.”