Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) set the pace in Free Practice 3 for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship by more than four tenths ahead of his rivals at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve. The #7 was quick on Friday and backed that up on Saturday morning at the Pirelli Portuguese Round as he headed Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) and home hero Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), who had a crash late in the session.

Lecuona posted a 1’39.186s as he claimed P1 in the 20-minute session to secure P1 for the first time in his Ducati career, and his pace was just a tenth away from Toprak Razgatlioglu’s pole lap record from last year, when he set a 1’39.081s. He was 0.419s clear of Montella in second place with Portuguese star Oliveira in third, although he fell victim to the tricky Turn 5 hairpin with a few minutes remaining in the session. He had a lowside crash after running slightly wide at the hairpin before coming off his bike. Nevertheless, he set a 1’39.622s to secure P3.

Championship leader Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) was fourth after setting a 1’39.795s, with the #11 saying on Friday that he ‘couldn’t push how he wanted’. He was ahead of Friday pacesetter Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) in fifth, with Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha) in sixth. The #97 had been running as high as P2 when he started his time attacks, but was demoted to P6. However, he was able to lap in the 1’39s as he set a 1’39.893s.

Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team) has enjoyed plenty of success at Portimao and will aim to keep that going this season, with the two-time WorldSBK Champion finishing in P7 after he set a 1’40.006s. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) was eighth ahead of Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) and Tarran Mackenzie (MGM Optical Express Racing), with the Brit rounding out the top ten.

The top six from WorldSBK FP3, full results here:

1. Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) 1’39.186s
2. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) +0.419s
3. Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.436s
4. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) +0.609s
5. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +0.632s
6. Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha) +0.707s

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