Iker Lecuona eyes improvement to fight Nicolo Bulega at Estoril WorldSBK

Iker Lecuona is hoping to improve his performance for Race 1 at the Estoril WorldSBK after being beaten to pole by Nicolo Bulega.

The newly crowned champion broke the lap record twice in Superpole at Estoril, his second lap making him the first rider to lap the circuit in under 1m34s – enough to give him his 10th pole of the season.

Bulega was pleased enough with his Superpole performance, feeling he’s back to the level he had before Cremona where he didn’t win any of the three races and was beaten to pole.

“I’m really happy,” Nicolo Bulega told the WorldSBK world feed after Superpole.

“We improved a lot the bike, much better than Cremona so I’m really happy to have my good feeling back. Thanks to my team and I hope to continue like this.”

For Iker Lecuona, second was something of an escape after a “horrible” first run in Superpole.

“Honestly, quite a good result finally because the first run was horrible, I didn’t feel good on the bike,” he said.

“I struggled a lot to go fast. 

“The team did a really good job, we did a small adjustment for the SCQ and I could go faster – a small detail I missed, but I knew Nicolo [Bulega] was very fast on that track, he likes it a lot. 

“Let’s see, I think we have a little bit similar pace but I think he has something more. So, let’s see if we can find something on the race to try to fight something for the victory.”

Lowes aiming to close podium gap

Alex Lowes qualified on the front row for the second time in 2026 at Estoril, after he was third in Superpole at Misano.

The British rider had topped FP3 with a different setup, but he was left on the provisional second row after his first run before adjusting his tyre strategy for his final lap by deciding to save grip for the last turn.

“I feel quite good on the bike this weekend,” Lowes told the world feed after Superpole.

“This morning was, let’s say, a trial run, but I felt good in [FP3] – the temperature comes up a bit, but I knew I could do a decent lap. 

“The first tyre [in Superpole] I didn’t maximise very well, but the second one I tried to save everything for this long last corner – I can’t go through there any faster, that’s for sure. 

“The team are doing a fantastic job, we’re pushing as hard as we can every weekend, but let’s see in the race. 

“We can enjoy it, we’re doing well, and let’s try to get a bit closer to the podium in the race.”