The future official Tech3 driver had a very good Grand Prix in Valencia and will be one to follow closely next year.
Iker Lecuona created a surprise this weekend and foreshadowed very good things for next year. Still in Moto2 a week ago, he was promoted to MotoGP in place of Miguel Oliveira, injured this weekend, and thus completed his first Grand Prix in the premier category without having done any test at the prior.
Many wondered where he would be and the young Spaniard proved his potential by going from a gap of three to less than two seconds behind the leader between FP1 and qualifying, and above all by making an incredible start to the race where he is quickly found in the points zone.
However, his weekend ended abruptly as he made a mistake 14 laps from the finish, at exactly the same time as Danilo Petrucci and Johann Zarco, something he cannot explain: “Honestly I don't know what happened when I crashed, because I didn't brake later or change direction, but Petrucci crashed in that corner, then Zarco in the same place and then me . It's true that three falls in the same place at the same time is very strange. Maybe it's linked to the temperatures, maybe there was leftover oil from Canet's bike in Moto3, I don't know. »
But his fall could have ended very badly since his motorcycle mowed down the Frenchman who had just gotten up. “As I fell I saw that my bike was going straight towards Zarco, I couldn't do anything but I was afraid of what the bike could do to him”, he explained. “So before even going to the motorbike I quickly ran towards Johann. I was really afraid that I had hurt him a lot more than he ended up getting. He told me his foot hurt, then when I saw him getting on the scooter I felt relieved because I was really scared for him. But in the end I couldn't do anything. »
Ultimately more fear than harm, therefore, and Lecuona will be able to begin his first MotoGP tests with peace of mind this Tuesday. If the final result is not representative of his Grand Prix, he keeps smiling: “I am very happy with my weekend. I progressed, I was fast and I was in the points. Of course I made a mistake and I fell but I'm happy. I didn't expect to adapt so quickly to the bike, I thought I was going to have a lot more difficulty but I progressed in each session, in the race I overtook an official KTM and created a gap , I was not very far from Pol. »
“I’m really sorry to the team because I crashed,” he continued. “I didn't want to end the weekend like this, because it was incredible! First of all because it was my first race in MotoGP and secondly because I was fast all weekend with the team who helped me a lot, so thank you for the excellent work! »
MotoGP Valencia J3: ranking
| 1 | 93 | Marc MÁRQUEZ | Honda | 41'21.469 |
| 2 | 20 | Fabio QUARTARARO | Yamaha | +1.026 |
| 3 | 43 | Jack Miller | Ducati | +2.409 |
| 4 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | +3.326 |
| 5 | 42 | Alex RINS | Suzuki | +3.508 |
| 6 | 12 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | +8.829 |
| 7 | 36 | Joan Mir | Suzuki | +10.622 |
| 8 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | +22.992 |
| 9 | 41 | Aleix ESPARGARÓ | Aprilia | +32.704 |
| 10 | 44 | Pol ESPARGARÓ | KTM | +32.973 |
| 11 | 53 | Tito RABAT | Ducati | +42.795 |
| 12 | 82 | Mika Kallio | KTM | +45.732 |
| 13 | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | Honda | +51.044 |
| 14 | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | Ducati | + 1'04.871 |
| 15 | 55 | Hafiz Syahrin | KTM | + 1'16.487 |
| Unclassified | ||||
| 29 | Andrea Iannone | Aprilia | 1 laps | |
| 21 | Frank MORBIDELLI | Yamaha | 9 lapses | |
| 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | 14 lapses | |
| 5 | johann zarco | Honda | 14 lapses | |
| 27 | Iker LECUONA | KTM | 14 lapses | |
| 35 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda | 17 lapses | |
| 51 | Michael PIRRO | Ducati | 19 lapses |
