Ducati rider questions WorldSBK weight rule effect on Alvaro Bautista
Iker Lecuona doesn’t think the WorldSBK minimum weight rule is what’s costing Alvaro Bautista podiums and wins.
Iker Lecuona has questioned the extent to which Alvaro Bautista is affected by the minimum weight rule in WorldSBK.
Bautista is the only rider on the 2026 grid to be affected by WorldSBK’s minimum weight rule, which was introduced for the 2024 season after Bautista himself won 27 of 36 races in 2023.
The two-time WorldSBK champion has long opposed the rule, especially since the middle of last season when it began to become clear that he would not be retained by the factory Ducati team.
Having moved to Barni Ducati for this season, Bautista currently sits ninth in the riders’ standings having scored only one podium, in the rain in Race 2 at Phillip Island, and has not finished a race inside the top-six since he was fourth in the Superpole Race at Balaton Park.
After the recent WorldSBK roadmap for 2027-2030 was announced, Bautista again took to social media for the absence of an intention from the championship to remove the minimum weight rule.
But Iker Lecuona, who replaced Bautista at the factory Ducati team for this season and who took his first WorldSBK win at the most recent round at Donington, doubts the extent to which Bautista’s performance is affected by the rule.
“Alvaro [Bautista] has the same bike as us,” said Lecuona on the Duralavita podcast, as reported by Speedweek.
“Yes, it has more weight, but to what extent? I claim that's not enough to make him fall back 15 or 20 seconds.
“Could it affect him? I'm not saying it's not, because he's a small rider.
“Logically, it could be more difficult for him on a track like Balaton with many changes of direction.
“Things went better at Assen, but I don't think [the ballast is] enough to set him back that far.”
Lecuona added: “I think there's more to it than just 7kg more weight on a bike. If a rider is smaller, there are advantages and disadvantages, and ballast doesn't help – certainly not, that's clear, because it changes inertia.
“With a gap of two or three seconds, I can understand that.
“I don't think so when you're 15 or 20 seconds behind.”
Alex joined the Crash.net team in August of 2024 having covered consumer and racing motorcycle news at Visordown for two years.
