Iker Lecuona cannot be particularly satisfied with how this Monday's test went at the Portimao track, in preparation for the Round to be held in the Algarve on the weekend of March 27-29. It was a complicated day due to bad weather and, above all, a less than optimal feeling with the Panigale V4 R of the Aruba.it Racing - Ducati team, which prevented him from going any better than fifth place, 760 thousandths of a second behind Alex Lowes's benchmark time. It was not the result Lecuona would have liked, arriving in Portugal on the heels of a weekend at Phillip Island that ended on a somewhat disappointing note.
"I can't say I'm happy," said the Ducati rider. "Overall, we found difficult conditions again today. We managed to get some work done this morning, despite the strong wind. However, I couldn't find the right feeling with the bike and I struggled a lot in the saddle. There were a lot of problems and we didn't know why."
Despite worsening weather conditions in the afternoon, Iker still managed to get to the bottom of the issue with the help of the team and hopes to see some progress tomorrow when he returns to the track for the final session of these two days at the Portuguese circuit.
"When we stopped for lunch, the rain came and we lost time until almost the end of the day. The track was dry at that point, although there were some wet patches, but we understood what the problem was and it's something we can solve," he added. "So, for tomorrow, we have a clear idea of how to work and start the day. Hopefully, the weather won't be like today's."