That is what you call a masterclass. Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) put together the finest weekend of his career at the Cremona Circuit during the EICMA Italian Round, claiming pole position, sweeping all three races, and grabbing his very first World Championship-level hat trick. The #7 was simply untouchable.
Friday set the tone when the team found something transformational in the machine. Lecuona topped both Free Practices before dominating Saturday to take pole and convert it into a commanding Race 1 victory. It pushed the title fight to Sunday, and while teammate Nicolo Bulega only needed 15 points to seal the championship crown, Lecuona came out swinging.
I didn’t expect it! I thought Nicolo would be a bit closer being at home in Italy; but I had crazy pace,
Sunday morning brought the Tissot Superpole Race, where the #7 started from P1. After a brief early battle where the #11 kept him within 0.213s for three laps, Lecuona stretched his advantage to over six tenths by Lap 7, ultimately crossing the line just over two seconds clear. Race 2 later that afternoon followed the exact same script. Starting from pole once again, Lecuona dropped the hammer immediately, setting the fastest lap of the race at 1’28.122s on Lap 2 to pull four tenths clear. By stringing together a series of sub-1’28.5 laps, he left the field behind and finished 1.3 seconds ahead of Bulega.
When the dust settled, Bulega celebrated a historic championship season while Lecuona pulled over trackside to congratulate his garage-mate. But the Spaniard's weekend was nothing short of stunning. Reflecting on his machine, Lecuona offered a brilliant instruction to his crew: “I told the team not to touch the bike, not to even change the oil; I want to take it to Estoril with this feeling.”
The numbers tell the story of a massive turning point. After grabbing just two podiums across his prior four seasons in the paddock, Lecuona's 2026 campaign has exploded. He now boasts 28 podiums to his name—surpassing the tally of American two-time WorldSBK Champion Fred Merkel and closing in on the 35 rostrum results held jointly by fellow countryman Ruben Xaus and Irish 13-time race winner Eugene Laverty.
“I didn’t expect it! I thought Nicolo would be a bit closer being at home in Italy; but I had crazy pace,” Lecuona said after securing his maiden triple. With second place in the 2026 Riders’ Championship now locked down in his debut year riding factory Ducati red, the #7 heads to the penultimate round at Estoril carrying immense momentum.
