Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) continued his dogged pursuit of his teammate and Championship rival Nicolo Bulega as the Factory Ducati duo finished 1-2 across each of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship’s three races in their Czech Round weekend at Autodrom Most; seemingly race by race, the Spaniard narrows his gap to the Italian.

Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) posted a Tissot Superpole session time two tenths faster than the 1’30.111s time set by the #7, to show the Spaniard to a P3 grid start position. By Lap 4, Lecuona made his way past the Italian for P2, even later overcoming Bulega on Lap 15 for four laps; briefly throwing Bulega’s streak into contention before the #11 took back P1 with three laps to go and where he would go on to finish. Sunday morning’s Tissot Superpole Race however saw an opposite trajectory, Lecuona came through the first corners in P1 where he finished that lap, but from there, Bulega make his way past on Turn 1 of Lap 2, and from thee the Italian grew his margin lap by lap to run away with the contest; three tenths by Lap 3, five tenths by Lap 5 before finishing with a gap of 1.9s. Race 2 closed out the weekend with a bang, as Bulega defended the holeshot and rode as far in front as eight tenths by Lap 5, while Lecuona reeled him in, cutting that margin to three tenths by Lap 10. He managed to hang there with Bulega, taking the Italian’s best shot, as they were the only riders who continued to lap in the 1’30s past Lap 6. The pair continued to ride that pace until Lecuona’s first 1’31s effort on Lap 17, two laps before Bulega dropped into the 1’31s. From Lap 17 of 22 onwards, Bulega put the hammer down and ran away with it to increase his Race win streak to 19, but Lecuona is still pleased with his showing on Sunday.

TIC-TOC: “I’m really close to him, he knows it, the team knows it, I know it, it’s a matter of time.”

On his Sunday, Lecuona said: “Honestly, I’m really happy about my Sunday, we changed the bike a little bit for the Warm Up, for the Superpole Race and for Race 2, taking risks because we know that we’ll still have the chance to finish in second, just farther behind Nicolo. Honestly, we did the opposite of Race 1; this time, we got better as the race went on after struggling in the first laps and were close to Nicolo by the end. In any case, I’m happy with my performance. It was my best weekend so far; the Superpole Race pace was crazy; we were faster than the record for many laps. Nicolo did a great job; he’s an excellent rider. I want to win, but I’m happy with my performance, I’m really close to him, he knows it, the team knows it, I know it, it’s a matter of time.”

STEP BY STEP: “It can be a bit frustrating at times to finish second in every race, but I have to say that I’m happy with my performances because I‘m getting better”

Lecuona’s growth this season has been nothing short of spectacular. Having landed just two podiums across his four WorldSBK seasons prior to this one, the #7 has been a veritable fixture on the podium, taking a spot on the rostrum in 12 of the season’s 15 races so far. Each of those has been in P2, behind Bulega, something which does irritate the Spaniard from time to time, but in large part, he is happy to bide his time as he continues to improve with his new bike and team.

On his second-place streak, Lecuona said: “Honestly, in Balaton Park, I was a bit frustrated; there, I expected a bit more. On Saturday, I fought with Nicolo for a few laps, I recovered the time, and we caught up to him. In the Superpole Race, I had a few more issues and struggled a bit more. But yes, it can be a bit frustrating at times to finish second in every race, and I have to say I’m happy with my performances because I'm getting better. We ride the same bike, but we have different riding styles, which leads him to go faster in some sectors and me faster in others.”

Catch Lecuona at his home round next time out at Aragon, starting May 29^th! Don’t miss a moment with the WorldSBK VideoPass! Now 30% off!