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So far, Iker Lecuona’s return to the World Championship hasn’t been a happy one. Not that he could’ve expected more, thanks to a Honda that can’t provide its riders with a technical package that’s up to par, in order to aspire towards significant results. In his last appearance in the MotoGP this season, barring any twist of events, the rider from Valencia aims to finish in a decent manner, maybe gaining a few points in the Qatari GP for the LCR Castrol team.
An arduous task if we take a look at today’s ranking from the Lusail International Circuit, where he placed 20th, the third to last position:”The asphalt was very dirty this morning and, at least initially, we couldn’t touch our elbows to the ground,” Lecuona admitted. “We couldn’t push excessively. The front closed a bit everywhere. Fortunately, there weren’t too many falls. In the second session, on the other hand, the track conditions improved. I had already noticed it when watching the FP2 in the Moto2 and, in fact, we improved quite a bit. Clearly, the situation remains complicated to manage, as soon as you go off the trajectory, you're forced to lift the bike. I wonder how we’ll overtake during the race ... It’s very dangerous. We’ll have to take a lot of risks.”
Thirteenth in the 2023 Superbike World Championship with HRC, the former KTM rider often alternated between superbikes and prototypes this season. He’s now facing his 7th MotoGP race weekend for 2023, replacing Alex Rins who’s recovering: “I like racing in lots of races on different teams and championships. I learned a lot, both with Repsol HRC and now with LCR. I had to adapt to new environments, working methods, and a new mentality, as well as knowing how to relate to the crew chiefs. I changed five of them this year. The experience I gained in the Superbike has certainly served me well. It’s a great school!”
In fact, it was a valuable stopgap, in order to compensate for Honda’s recurring defections. A subspecies of a third (occult) rider, a topic that has been recently discussed often. Would it be useful to introduce it in the modern MotoGP that’s chock full of races and, consequently, with a higher percentage of risks for the first riders? Num. 27 expresseed his opinion: “Why not. It wouldn’t be a bad idea. In the end, if I’m here, that it means that my level allows me to be. I can ride the RC213V, even though it’s a complex bike, and it gives me some real scares when trying not to fall.”
“I didn’t do that bad today. The gap from the top of the standings is one second and four tenths. I also put myself behind my teammate (ed.Takaaki Nakagami), who has been racing in this category for much longer than I have,” he added. “Paradoxically, the misfortune of a title holder can become an opportunity for someone like me. I was able to learn more about the MotoGP bike during these races and not lose my pace, even in the absence of scheduled tests. What’s the biggest difference compared to CBR? The tires (ed. Pirelli versus Michelin), in particular, the front one. You get used to everything else more quickly.”
