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The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship has rolled into Hungary for the second visit to the Balaton Park Circuit. The Motul Hungarian Round is the fourth round of the 2026 season and history could be made on the shoreline of Lake Balaton. Ahead of track action getting underway, we’ve gathered the best quotes from Thursday’s debriefs…

Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati): “I think this track matches my riding style quite well. I feel quite comfortable on the bike here”

Arriving in Hungary full of confidence, Lecuona said: “I’m arriving with the same objective as the last races, arriving with both feet on the ground and keeping the progression we’ve been having. I think this track matches my riding style quite well. I feel quite comfortable on the bike here; the corners and chicanes were some of my strongest points, so I felt good. Bulega’s strongest points are the fast corners; at Assen, he was really strong in fast corners like Turn 15. I need to improve my confidence on the bike and the way I approach corners like that. I still don’t fully understand how he does it, but this track is more my style. This isn’t one of his best tracks, and one of the best tracks for me, so maybe that will help me compensate. After this weekend, maybe, maybe I will have some news.”

Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team): “I need to fight and aim for my first victory in World Superbike”

Aiming high in Hungary, Sam Lowes said: “I was happy to make the step at Assen and back to full fitness, back on the podium. I enjoyed this event last year; the track suited my style and suited the Ducati. I had two podiums last year. I’m hoping to keep that form going and fight for those positions. I need to get closer to the factory boys. We’re happy and confident with our package now and getting closer and that’s the goal. I know everyone has that goal obviously. I just want to keep the ball rolling. I have to improve stopping the bike, maybe that confidence that a good result brings. I think every rider wants to be as high up as possible; top three in the world is always a target of everybody. We’ll keep trying to improve. I need to fight and aim for my first victory in World Superbike.”

Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati): “Records are very important… There’s some news on my future, but I cannot tell you”

Previewing Balaton Park and discussing his future, Bulega said: “I feel very good. We come here from a very nice weekend; we’re in a very good moment. Everything is working very well. Records are very important, but for me, the important thing is to win the Championship. It’s important to see my name in this kind of list; it’s very nice, but at the moment I’m focused on the Championship. If I have the possibility to win the race, I’ll do it. If I don’t, it’s not important because at the moment I need to take points for the Championship. I think Iker is very strong and was in the last races. Maybe here he’ll be even stronger. There’s some news on my future, but I cannot tell you.”

Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team): “We know we have to ride the KB998 as hard as possible to stick with those guys… I think the softer tyres could help”

Looking ahead to the Hungarian Round, Alex Lowes said: “I’m looking forward to it. It’s a relatively new track on the calendar. I feel like I rode well at Portimao and Assen, so we’ll try to bring this momentum here. It’s a different layout with a lot of chicanes, stopping the bike and accelerating from first gear. On paper, I don’t know if it’s the best for us, but we’ve improved the bike a lot in those areas. We’ve got to keep trying to get closer to Ducati, get the best results we can each weekend and that’s what we’re going to do. I think the softer tyres can help us a bit. I think our bike works quite well with the softer tyres, it means you can be a bit more aggressive. We know we have to ride the KB998 as hard as possible to stick with those guys, which I enjoy doing, so I think the softer tyres could help.”

Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) “Last year in MotoGP, this track was a good turning point for me”

On his feeling prior to the Hungarian Round, Oliveira said: “For sure, we arrive here recharged, full of energy to take on Balaton Park. It’s uplifting to look at last year’s results and see that the bike works well here. Our job is to have it work from the very start in FP1. We will see what we can do, but the goal is to remain in the top five. If we manage that, we’ll have a good weekend. Last year in MotoGP, this track was a good turning point for me. I had a good race; it was difficult to manage with the longer MotoGP bike, and it was difficult to stop the bike on the short straights, but we ended with a really positive weekend. I think it’s been quite a solid start to the season. We’re past the two most difficult tracks for the bike, so I hope we can be more consistently near the top from here.”

Somkiat Chantra (Honda HRC): “I have known Yuki for quite a few years… I’m happy to have him”

Ahead of the Hungarian Round, Chantra said: “After Assen, I had pain in my leg, and now, after a week of recovery, we checked it today. The medical centre gave us the ok, and my feelings have been getting better. The crash was a bit odd. We put a new front disc on the brakes, and I didn’t warm them up. My tyres were also getting a little low, causing me to lose the front when I hit the brakes. This year will be my first time here; I missed it last year in MotoGP due to injury. I’ve been watching videos and playing the MotoGP video game, and it looks like a nice layout. I have known Yuki really well for quite a few years from the Asian Talent Cup and JuniorGP. We have experience together, and he has experience at this circuit. I’m happy to have him on the team this weekend. I also want to say good luck to Jake, and we hope he’s back soon!”

Danilo Petrucci (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team): “At the moment we’re going upwards, I want to consolidate that here”

On his upcoming round in Hungary, ‘Petrux’ said: “I’m happy to race again, especially with this bike. The two most difficult tracks for us, Phillip Island and Assen, are both behind us. At Assen, I felt quite good, but in the races, we were unable to keep our position; from my point of view, I was riding quite well. I think the BMW will work quite well here. Last year, I did an incredible job in Race 1, starting from last position and finishing P5, which could have been a podium. In the Tissot Superpole Race, I tried again, but the rain tyre wasn't enough. In Race 2, I had a problem with my helmet that caused me to stop. We struggled a bit at the beginning of this season with the lack of testing. Then, at Portimao, I tried to change my riding style on the bike, but we realised it wasn’t the right approach. Assen showed progress, and we’re feeling positive because the results are coming. At the moment we’re going upwards, I want to consolidate that in Hungary.”

Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team): “At Portimao we decided to come back and start from zero because Australia is a very particular track. I think we made a mistake”

Revealing how he and his team have turned his fortunes around, Bautista said: “I arrive with good energy because at the last round, we did a good job. We were working on the setup and feeling of the bike. We made a good improvement. I started to have the bike as I wanted. I hope we can continue this work and improving the feeling with the bike and close the gap to the front. It’s true, changing team and bike model; we needed more time on track that we didn’t get in the winter tests. Australia is a different track. I felt improvement from the test during the weekend, but then at Portimao, we decided to come back and start from zero because Australia is a very particular track. I think we made a mistake. After Assen, with the data collected at Portimao, we started to work in the same direction we worked in Australia.”

Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) “As of two weeks ago, I’ve been back to training at full intensity”

Round 4 of his WorldSBK career for Manzi, who said: “I’m arriving feeling very good after a tough start to the season. I had a bad crash at the test in Australia which left me with an injury on my left ankle. I’m still recovering, after two months but there is a bit of a fracture because the spot of the break is in an area without a lot of blood flow. I still need time to recover as I am under 100% but as of two weeks ago, I’ve been back to training at full intensity so I’m quite happy and quite confident going into Balaton Park after my double here last year in WorldSSP.”

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