Iker Lecuona seems to be leaving MotoGP holding a grudge against KTM for not having given him every chance to assert himself. The Spaniard spent two seasons riding the RC16, the first of which lasted less than the 14 races of a calendar already reduced due to the health crisis. And for good reason: he was affected by Covid-19. But the second, and therefore last, was chaotic with in particular the record for falls with a total of 26 among the protagonists in the category. But there were also moments of brilliance. Arrived too late and ultimately insufficient. Hence this bitterness despite an assured and promising reconversion…
Iker Lecuona, above all else, is first and foremost a discovery ofHervé Poncharal before being an assumed choice of KTM. But in his assessment of two seasons spent in a MotoGP that he was forced to leave 21 years ago, the Spaniard points the finger at the Austrian brand, regretting that it did not give him the time to truly prove himself. We read thus on motorsport total : " I don't think that's right, because if you believe in a driver, then you believe in him for one, two, three, four years. You can believe in the pilot, but must also give him this time ».
He adds : " I think in my case they wanted a very young rider and they wanted him to be fast on a very difficult bike. But it's not a Ducati, not a Yamaha. We worked for these two years. I was fast or KTM was fast. But in many races the four KTMs were far behind. It's not that I was a better rider or not from week to week, but because the bike is difficult to understand and use. If you don't empower the pilots, there's nothing they can do ».
Iker Lecuona: “ we've never had this before«
And then there is this new context which indeed deserves attention: “ the level in MotoGP is very high ", remember lecuona. " We are very fast on many tracks. I was often 15th, seven tenths of a second behind the leader.. There are six brands. With completely different bikes, we are grouped together in a second. The level is very high. I don't think we've ever had this before. I don't know, you'd have to look, but five years ago, you got on the podium if you were a second away. Now you're one second away and you're last ».
By summer, it was clear that lecuona had no future in the family KTM. He will drive for the factory team Honda in the Superbike World Championship next year. Honda bet on young people and two rookies because the second driver is Xavi Virgo. On the other side, the two MotoGP rookies Remy gardner et Raul fernandez will drive the Tech16 RC3s in 2022.
