WorldSBK, Sportrik Media - Iker Lecuona has described his feeling on the Ducati Panigale V4 R as “the worst” so far during Race 2 of the 2026 Australian WorldSBK round, despite securing a top-eight finish at Phillip Island.
The new Ducati signing crossed the line in eighth after spending much of the race running in sixth position, before being overtaken late on by Danilo Petrucci and Miguel Oliveira. At the finish, he was approximately 30 seconds adrift of team-mate Nicolo Bulega, who completed a dominant season-opening treble in Australia.
While the result appeared respectable on paper, Lecuona emphasised that the issue was not position but a severe lack of rear tyre feeling, a critical factor at a high-speed circuit like Phillip Island where sustained corner load and confidence on the edge of grip are essential.
“If I’m honest I’m a bit frustrated.
“I don’t talk about the position – I had a battle with Danilo and Miguel during the race and held that position – I talk about my feeling, which is the worst feeling on the bike since the beginning, honestly.
“Very tricky to ride, very difficult, with a lot of huge moments during the race. Zero feeling with the rear tyre on a track where you need to feel the tyres well – it’s not easy to ride. In wet conditions it’s even harder.
“I almost flew 15 times during the race. I’m frustrated for that reason, because of that feeling on the bike.”
Phillip Island’s flowing layout places continuous stress on rear traction and stability, particularly through long, fast corners where throttle modulation and load transfer precision define race pace. A lack of rear-end confidence inevitably compromises consistency and limits a rider’s ability to maintain pressure on the group ahead.
Despite the difficulties in Race 2, Lecuona acknowledged the broader progress made throughout the Australian round, particularly compared to the opening day of testing earlier in the week.
“Overall I need to be happy. The team are happy, so I need to be happy because we made good progression during the test and throughout the week.
“It’s the first time in four years that I raced and finished in Australia, even without crashes, so that is a very positive point for myself. Also, no crashes means I don’t lose feeling on the bike. We worked well and step by step we arrived.
“We have the speed, we showed our speed. We need to put all the pieces together and find those last tenths to be there. But honestly, we did a really good job.”
The difficult Race 2 has even left Lecuona open to the prospect of wet conditions at the upcoming Portimao test on 9–10 March, viewing it as an opportunity to better understand the bike’s behaviour under low-grip circumstances.
“If it rains, for sure I will do 50 or 100 laps because I need to understand what happened today. I need to learn because I know I have the potential.
“If not, we keep working on the base and keep learning the bike.
“Here we missed some tenths in some places that I think we can work on well in Portimao – of course it’s a completely different track – but we need to keep the performance, keep doing the job and arrive there more ready for the race weekend.”
With the championship now heading to Portimao, Ducati and Lecuona will focus on refining rear stability and base setup parameters in an effort to close the gap to Bulega and the front group during the early phase of the 2026 WorldSBK season.
Read Also
Nicolo Bulega becomes the most successful Italian rider in WorldSBK history after a treble victory at Phillip Island.
Nicolo Bulega wins the 2026 WorldSBK Phillip Island race in dominant fashion to lead the championship early.
Nicolo Bulega says his dominant WorldSBK Race 1 win in Australia was not easy despite leading every lap.
Continue with Google
Discussion (0)
Join the Discussion!
Sign in easily to start commenting, replying, and interacting with other readers.
Latest Comments
No comments yet. Be the first!