ASSEN, Sportrik Media – Iker Lecuona believes he is edging closer to the performance level of his teammate Nicolo Bulega following another consistent weekend in the 2026 WorldSBK round at Assen. The Spanish rider secured second place in all three races, replicating his results from Portimao three weeks earlier.
Despite Bulega’s dominant start to the season with Aruba.it Racing Ducati, Lecuona has established himself as his closest challenger in the standings. He currently sits second overall, extending his margin over rivals such as Sam Lowes, although still trailing Bulega by 69 points.
“At the end, the fastest lap is just two-tenths slower than him,” Lecuona told WorldSBK.com after Race 2 in Assen.
“So, we are close compared to Race 1 or compared to the Superpole Race. Every time I jump on the bike we learn something, and we need to take the feeling. Of course, it’s not my 100 percent bike, so I don’t feel fully ready to fight for the victory yet, but let’s see.”
Lecuona highlighted that steady progress throughout the weekend has been a key factor in maintaining his championship position for Team HRC. While acknowledging that adaptation to the bike is still ongoing, he underlined that consistent podium finishes are crucial in a long season.
“The good thing is we improved our performance, we learned a lot, and we did another three P2s. That keeps me second in the championship and increases the gap to Sam Lowes, who pushed me very hard during the races this weekend,” he added.
Setup adjustments played a significant role in Lecuona’s Assen performance. The Spaniard revealed that the team made bold changes on Sunday, including configurations that had not been tested before, in response to front tyre degradation issues experienced in Race 1.
“I did a really good job during the weekend. Sometimes I struggled a lot, sometimes I felt more comfortable. In the sprint, I felt a bit better with the bike, but it wasn’t enough or not in the right direction, so we changed the bike again for Race 2,” he explained.
“We used something quite safe, but also something we never tried before. We wanted to take the risk because in Race 1 I destroyed the front tyre.”
The adjustments proved effective overall, although not without moments of difficulty. Lecuona admitted he encountered two significant near-crashes at Turn 12, costing him valuable time during the race.
“In the end it was good, but I had two huge moments at Turn 12 where I almost crashed twice. I lost around half a second to six tenths over two laps,” he said.
Nevertheless, Lecuona remains realistic about Bulega’s current advantage, particularly given Assen’s characteristics, which suit the Italian rider’s strengths.
“I’m really happy. Nicolo is a bit faster than me, but I know this is one of his best tracks. Let’s see if we can improve our position in the next races,” he concluded.
With momentum building through consistent results, the intra-team battle is expected to intensify as the 2026 WorldSBK season heads to its next round, where further development and adaptation will likely define the competitive order.
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