How Nicolo Bulega tyre gamble affected Iker Lecuona strategy at Cremona WorldSBK

Iker Lecuona’s Cremona WorldSBK Superpole Race win was his second of the weekend and required some strategic riding in the beginning.

Lecuona started from pole and made the holeshot, but he was attacked by Nicolo Bulega – who he beat by five seconds in Race 1 – at turn 11 on the second lap.

Lecuona retaliated immediately, retaking the lead at turn 13 to hold the lead onto the third lap.

Bulega was able to attack early on because he opted to gamble on the SCQ rear tyre, a softer option than Lecuona’s SCX.

It was a choice Iker Lecuona knew about before the start, and that informed how he approached those early laps.

“Before the grid the team told me that maybe Nicolo [Bulega] and other riders go with the SCQ,” he said, speaking to the WorldSBK world feed broadcast after the Superpole Race.

“I still [decided] to go with the SCX, with the riding that I did yesterday, in the morning [FP3] and in the afternoon [Race 1], even this morning [Warm Up] – I said ‘Okay, it’s clear for me the SCX’. 

“I knew in the beginning I could struggle with Nicolo, so my target was to be just in front until his tyre dropped. 

“I said to my crew chief in the box ‘For sure he tries to overtake me in turn 11’, and I had clear intention to overtake in 13 because it’s one of my strongest points, even last year. 

“Very happy. It’s a good performance. [...] For now, it’s almost a perfect weekend.”

For Bulega, the SCQ was worth the gamble, but it ultimately didn’t hold on well enough for him to maintain his victory challenge until the finish.

“It was difficult because Iker [Lecuona] was very strong, he’s very fast here in this track especially,” Bulega said.

“So, I decided to put the qualifying tyre just to have a small advantage. 

“The first laps I was able to follow him, but then I feel a bit of drop and he was very strong.

“Congratulations to him and for me second place is good.”

Bulega will have a strong chance to clinch the WorldSBK title in Race 2. Lecuona would have to out-score the Italian by 14 points to keep the points battle going to Estoril.