Spanish rider Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) sealed his remarkable 2026 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship with a podium triple at his home Circuito de Jerez - Angel Nieto, Andalucia. The #7 can look back on what has been a historic 2026 season with pride, not only for the accomplishments of his team, but for the new heights to which he’s climbed, and rapidly acclimated.

SAM LOWES SNEAKS TO P2 AHEAD OF HIM

Lecuona landed a P3 finish to the season’s final Tissot Superpole event, just under half a second behind his 2026 Champion teammate Nicolo Bulega on pole, and around a tenth behind Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team). He and the pair ahead of him ended Race 1’s first lap in the same order they set off in, and as the three heavyweights charged into the second half of the race, Lecuona ran two and a half seconds behind the #14. He pushed into the final laps, cutting the margin to P2 to 1.1s, but in the end, the #7 took P3 as he failed to close the gap.

“AT ONE POINT, THE RAIN ARRIVED, AND THE REAR DROPPED A LOT WITH THE COLD WIND. I DECIDED TO FINISH THE YEAR IN THAT POSITION”

Sunday saw Lecuona jump out to his habitual P2 early in the Tissot Superpole Race as Sam Lowes fell farther back after a poor jump off the line at lights out. Despite setting sub-1’38s times on every lap except the opening and final laps, and from Lap 5 to the chequered flag setting faster lap times than Bulega in P1, Lecuona came up nearly eight tenths short of P1 behind the 2026 Champion. To round off the 2026 season, Lecuona charged ahead at lights out for the holeshot, and led for the first five turns of Race 2. At the heavy-braking ‘Dani Pedrosa’ corner, however, Bulega cut inside and shot ahead on the brakes to take P1. The gap was more than half a second by Lap 2, and more than a second by Lap 4. Lecuona came back to boxes after the chequered flag amid a torrential downpour at the circuit in P2 for the 27^th time this season, a tally that were it any other season, would be the talk of the entire WorldSBK paddock.

On his Sunday results and how he felt riding the last laps of the 2026 season, Lecuona said: “Saturday I struggled a lot, but Sunday morning, I found that changing some small details in my riding style helped me. I felt fast in the Superpole Race, and I recovered some time compared to Nicolo. In Race 2, however, he was much faster; he deserved it. At one point, the rain arrived, and the rear dropped a lot with the cold wind. I decided to finish the year in that position. I’m really happy. Like I said many times this year, this team changed my life. I was very happy riding that cooldown lap; I was smiling the entire time. I remembered all of this year. It’s been incredible.”

“I’M NOT HAPPY THAT HE’S LEAVING JUST SO THAT I DON’T HAVE TO COMPETE WITH HIM. IF SOMEONE IS BETTER THAN ME, I WANT TO COMPETE WITH THEM”

To Lecuona, sharing a box with the #11 has brought its frustrations at times, as the #11 chafed behind Bulega’s hegemony over the top step of the podium. However, he also credits the #11 in part for the monumental step Lecuona has made in 2026: from two podiums over four seasons to the fourth-most podiums ever in a WorldSBK season. In his mind, that competition for P1 helped him get accustomed to finishing at the top of the order with regularity. That front-of-the-pack battle culminated in the #7 celebrating not just his Donington Park maiden win. But his maiden hat trick at Cremona for four wins in his first season in factory Ducati red.

On the departure of his sparring partner to MotoGP, Lecuona said: “I felt sad when I first heard that his MotoGP rumours are true, because he pushed me so hard. When I was angry, or frustrated, or sad about finishing in P2. He told me that he’s been there too. I’m in P2 because of how hard he pushed me. I’m very happy for him, he had an amazing season. We always fight, aggressively, but always leaving a bit of space for each other. Honestly, I’m not happy that he’s leaving just so that I don’t have to compete with him. To me, if someone is better than me, I want to work and compete with them. Both of the other podiums I had before this year were because something happened up front; this year, I won four races. I feel more sad than happy to see him leave.”

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