MotoGP Valencia J1: Iker Lecuona (KTM/23) is a very good last

The least we can say is that at the end of this first day of free testing on the Valencia track, Iker Lecuona, although finishing last, did the job within the KTM Team Tech3. The Spaniard thus ended this first day only 2,3s behind the leaders, not bad for a beginner…

This was the very first experience in MotoGP for ex-Moto2 rider Iker Lecuona. Called in for reinforcement following the convalescence of Miguel Oliveira, he will work throughout this weekend, within the KTM Tech3 team. A taste of what awaits him next season since he will replace Hafizh Syahrin.

The stakes were high. The 19-year-old young man has everything to assimilate as quickly as lightning: the power of the motorcycle to understand, the carbon brakes and the Michelin tires to assimilate. So many unknown things to master in a short time. lecuona partially fulfilled the mission, managing to tame the beast on day 1, finding himself relegated to the back of the pack, certainly, but only 2,379 seconds behind the best time. A sure promise of a better tomorrow...

 Hervé Poncharal, the young man's boss was aware of the risk taken in having the KTM RC16 entrusted to Miguel Oliveira à Iker lecuona, renowned for his enthusiasm. “ It's a big risk, some managers were concerned and I was told I shouldn't do it », declared the boss of Tech3.

« It's the hardest bike to ride in the world and Valencia is a tough track. The weather conditions aren't great, and it's his home Grand Prix, he lives ten minutes from here." specified Poncharal. “We told him that he had to take it as an additional test for his learning” told Hervé Poncharal adding that “ even if he was last he shouldn't be disappointed but what mattered was that above all he had fun driving” continued the French boss.

« It was a pleasant feeling, a sensation that is unknown to me, it's new to me, " confessed Iker Lecuona. “I've ridden a lot of motorcycles, but this is completely different” ccomments the one who will officiate this weekend alongside Syahrin.

« The biggest problem is the carbon brakes, it's quite difficult to understand, it was getting better in the last laps, I was starting to understand how it worked. I had a better feeling, but I need more laps with this bike”, reports the 19-year-old pilot.

« The KTM experience in Moto2 is similar because it is also a KTM, it doesn't make a big difference, but the bike requires a different riding style, the feeling is similar, but I have to adapt my style to this machine ", said lecuona.
« I have more power and the brakes are different, I probably brake in the same places as with the Moto2 machine, but then I am faster than in Moto2, it is difficult to adjust these points”, explained the former teammate of Joe Roberts in Moto2.

lecuona is delighted with the result achieved. “ I thought I was three or three and a half seconds behind, I'm happy with what I achieved, I had 3,1 seconds left in the morning, it was already great. Now I'm only 2,3 seconds behind, which makes me very satisfied »

MotoGP legend and test rider for KTM, Dani Pedrosa, also knows how difficult it is to move from one category to another: “CIt's a difficult circuit to start with because it's very small for MotoGP, and the bike is really prone to doing wheelies, and I think this preparation will completely take over. He will barely have started his apprenticeship before the race will have arrived just as quickly "Comments Pedrosa. " It is important not to fall especially and to gain more and more experience with the motorcycle » concludes the three-time world champion in intermediate categories.