Iker Lecuona has nothing to reproach himself for after the Phillip Island meeting which launched the World Superbike season. He carried almost alone on his shoulders a Honda house which this time distanced itself from its direct 2022 rival that was BMW, and he even knocked on the doors of the top 5 in the race. There is certainly still work to be done on the CBR triple R to regularly accompany the official Kawasaki and Yamaha. As for Ducatis, and all Ducatis, that's another story...
Iker Lecuona deserved his salary in Australia by showing himself as bold as he was solid during a meeting in Phillip Island electric. Because if Álvaro Bautista pranced in the lead playing the man without incident, life was a little more hectic in the middle of the peloton...
The Spaniard thus remembers a Sunday when he did not owe his share to the dogs, especially in Race 2 : “ it was an exciting race, I was right in the middle and until the end I was one of the candidates in the fight for fourth place ", said lecuona that holds the top spot. " As for other brands, my pace is at the same level as Kawasaki or Yamaha, because this year we improved significantly towards the end of the races and can now keep our pace much more successfully ».
Et Ducati ? " It is clear to me that Ducati is strong and the best Ducati riders are almost impossible to stop ". So much for the overall assessment. But to get there, we had to make choices about the Honda in order to get the most out of the tires. A strategy common to all and that Jonathan Rhea also declined in its own way with its Kawasaki.
Iker Lecuona: “ our top speed was correct because with five riders in front of me, I still had enough slipstream«
We thus learn from Spanish 23 years : " in order to improve the life of the rear tire, we limited the power a little with the electronics. On the one hand, it allowed me to fight until the end. But on the other hand, I lost four or five tenths of a second by accelerating at the exit of the long and fast finishing corner, which I then had to regain somehow. Our top speed was OK because with five riders in front of me I still had enough slipstream. However, I missed these tenths to be a little more relaxed in the race ».
The highlight was his successful attack on the Kawasaki factory rider Jonathan Rhea in the penultimate lap. “ He kept trying to slow the group down. It was only when Bassani was in front that he also opened the throttle and burned his rear tire in the process. I knew I still had some reservations when it came to tire grip and that I could overtake him " welcomes lecuona on speedweek who also knows how to be an old hand.
He finishes : " overall we can be very satisfied with the result. We were in a group that fought for 4th place until the end. And this on a track that is very critical in terms of tire wear. Now we have the necessary data and know for the future how we can continue to improve over a full race distance ". We will recall that his teammate Virgin settled for eleventh place.
WSBK Superbike Phillip Island Race 2: standings
Credit classification wsbk.com