“Quite different”: Iker Lecuona brings MotoGP setup back to WorldSBK

Iker Lecuona says his Ducati WorldSBK bike is “quite different” after bringing elements of his MotoGP setup to the Panigale V4 R.

Lecuona has raced two MotoGP weekends so far this year with Gresini Racing, replacing Alex Marquez at Balaton Park and Fermin Aldeguer at Silverstone.

Lecuona performed well on both occasions, and he says that the current championship picture – with Nicolo Bulega too far ahead to consider a late push for the title – has encouraged him to experiment with his WorldSBK machine.

“We tried something new, so I think it was important for us to understand that new base, or that new things that we did on the bike,” Iker Lecuona told WorldSBK.com after FP2 at Magny-Cours.

“It’s true I pushed to my crew chief to do it. I need to be honest, because Nicolo [Bulega] was too far in the championship, Montella was far to me, so I think that it’s time to find those last tenths compared to Nicolo. 

“If I want to try to find those last tenths, I need to try something different on the bike. 

“On MotoGP I tried something different than my standard base – I liked it in MotoGP and I said ‘Why can’t we try [in WorldSBK]?’ We tried it, I liked it. 

“Few points that were positive, and other ones that we need to improve or we need to work on that area. So, let’s see. I think it’s an okay Friday.”

Lecuona added that the changes have made the bike quite different compared to Donington.

“From the first run in FP1 to the last one, we started to work, make changes, and then we adjust, so from the morning to the end the bike is just adjusted,” he said.

“But this morning it’s a quite different bike compared to Donington.”

FP2 crash: “I didn’t expect it”

On-track, things were complicated by a crash in FP2 for Lecuona. It happened at turn 10 on his first flying lap, and came as something of a surprise to the Spaniard.

“I crashed in turn 10 before changing direction, just with a new tyre,” Lecuona explained.

“Honestly, we changed the bike and [I was] a bit too fast and when I tried to pick up the bike on the first touching of the throttle and I lost the front when I unloaded a little bit the front.

“Sometimes it’s a typical crash but I didn’t expect it because I was quite relaxed, but a bit too fast. 

“But in any case, the team did a really good job, repaired the bike quick, and then we have enough time to still work.”