Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) had a rollercoaster Friday at MotorLand Aragon as the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship paddock descended on Spain for Round 6 of the 2026 campaign. The #7 finished second in the morning Free Practice 1 session, just behind teammate Nicolo Bulega, while he topped Free Practice 2 in the afternoon – despite a crash with a few minutes to go.
In Free Practice 1, Lecuona took the fight to Bulega by posting a 1’48.938s to claim second directly behind the #11, but there was only 0.022s between them around the MotorLand Aragon circuit, which is more than 5km in length. With air temperatures at 30 degrees Celsius and track temperatures at least 10 degrees higher, it was a challenging season – but those temperatures would only rise as the scorching sun beat down on Spain.
In the afternoon session, those temperatures had risen to 35 degrees ambient and 53 degrees track, providing even more of a challenge for the riders. The #7 was able to go fastest in the afternoon but no one, except Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) and Jake Dixon (Honda HRC), was able to go quicker than their FP1 time. Lecuona set a 1’49.578s to claim P1 in FP2, just 0.010s ahead of Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) and 0.081s ahead of Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati).
In that session, Lecuona crashed with three minutes remaining at Turn 8, losing the front as he tried to push. The crash came the lap after he set his best time of the session, and he had set the best sector of anyone in Sector 1 before he fell halfway through Sector 2 as he tried to improve his lap time once again.
Discussing the crash, the 14-time WorldSBK podium finisher said: “I’m okay, fortunately, after I arrived in the gravel very fast. Luckily, I don’t have any issues, only the bike. I’m relaxed even with that crash, because the run would’ve been fantastic with that tyre. I feel confident, comfortable and very fast. I crashed by mistake. It’s my fault, 100%. I haven’t checked the data but even without that, I know why I crashed. It was 100% my fault. I braked a little bit later in the hot and tricky conditions. Honestly, I could go wide and lose the lap, but my impression is just about keeping the pace. I went fast in Sector 1; I wanted to keep that in Sector 2. I lost the reference a little bit when I braked and forced the front a bit under braking to be on the line. I lost the front very quickly and couldn’t save it.”
Lecuona also reflected on the track conditions, which were a challenge for riders in every class in action at Aragon. In FP2, the track temperatures peaked at 54 degrees Celsius and never dropped below 53, showing how hot it was. It was similar – but cooler – for the air temperature, which peaked at around 36.1 Celsius in the closing stages of FP2.
Speaking about both the track and ambient conditions, Lecuona said: “Honestly, we went much slower than in the morning, almost a second slower. Even from the first lap in FP2, when I got to the back straight, all the hot air from the engine went to my neck. It was very hard to ride. Mentally it was difficult to keep focused, and physically it was very demanding with those conditions. The straight is the worst part of the track. In the corners, it’s fresher! With the temperature, the bike was critical. I lost the front many times during the laps.”
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