Marco Bezzecchi
Iker Lecuona believes that the ‘level’ in World Superbikes is ‘really excellent’, as he and teammate Nicolo Bulega have proven.
Lecuona replaced Alex Marquez at Gresini for the Hungarian Grand Prix last weekend. It was his first MotoGP race since 2023 and his first riding a Ducati bike.
Despite his vast inexperience compared to the rest of the field, the Spaniard was hugely impressive. Lecuona finished a strong P7, collecting nine points for Gresini, with teammate and full-time rider Fermin Aldeguer getting taken out on lap one in a pile-up on the first corner.
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Iker Lecuona says the ‘level’ in World Superbikes compared to MotoGP is ‘excellent’
Since leaving MotoGP as a full-time rider at the end of 2021, Lecuona has been competing in World Superbikes, spending four seasons struggling for results with Honda.
This year, he joined Ducati with the Aruba.it Racing team alongside Bulega, and the pair are the class of the field. The Italian is dominating the championship, winning every race thus far, while Lecuona is second, having finished P2 in the last 15 races.
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Bulega replaced Marc Marquez for the final two races of the 2025 season, finishing P15 at Portimao and Valencia. He had the option to replace Alex Marquez at Balaton Park, but Ducati want Bulega focused on developing the 2027 bike – he is their MotoGP test rider alongside his WSBK duties.
The responsibility therefore fell to Lecuona in Hungary, and his standout performance proved that the level in WSBK is high, as he explained to Motosprint.
He said: “I’m really happy with our performance. The team did a great job all weekend, we didn’t make any mistakes, and every time I got on the bike, I felt more comfortable.
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“I’m happy that both Nicolo and I have shown that we have the level to be very strong in this paddock, without forgetting that we have Sam Lowes and Yari Montella. The level of World Superbike is really excellent.”
It is currently unclear as to whether Lecuona will be back at Gresini in the future. Alex Marquez has missed the last two races and is continuing his rehabilitation.
Lecuona would love to return to MotoGP, with his calendar being free for the next round at Brno. However, he says that he remains committed to WSBK.
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