Ducati has officially announced the signing of Honda rider Iker Lecuona for the 2026 WorldSBK season.

Following its June announcement to part ways with two-time champion Alvaro Bautista after the 2025 season, Ducati believes the two-time WorldSBK podium finisher is the ideal replacement.

Still just 25, he has already built a strong resume across MotoGP and WorldSBK, racing for Tech3 KTM in 2020 and 2021, and spending the past four seasons with Honda.

The two-time podium finisher will join forces with Nicolo Bulega, who is two months his senior, for the 2026 season.

Due to the budget allocated for its second rider, reports indicate that the Spaniard has agreed to a reduced salary to ride the all-new 2026 Panigale.

Ducati’s official statement reads: “The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team is pleased to announce that an agreement has been reached with Iker Lecuona, who will ride the new Ducati Panigale V4R in the 2026 WorldSBK season.

“Born on January 6, 2000, in Valencia, the Spanish rider made his debut in the Moto2 category at the age of 16, where he remained for four seasons before moving up to MotoGP in 2020 with the Tech3 team.

“Since 2022, he has been competing in World Superbike with the Honda HRC team, with whom he has achieved two podiums and one pole position in the 113 races he has contested so far.”

Honda added: “Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) and rider Iker Lecuona will bring their collaboration to a close at the end of the 2025 Superbike World Championship season.

“Since joining Honda HRC in 2022, Lecuona has proved his dedication and racing spirit, working closely with his crew to steadily improve on performance and consistently fight inside the top ten.

“His best WorldSBK results include two podium finishes, at Assen in 2022 and at Estoril in 2024.

“Committed to his role as a Honda rider, Lecuona also represented the company during several MotoGP rounds, as a replacement rider, and was part of the triumphant Honda line-up at the prestigious Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race in 2022, riding the CBR1000RR-R SP.

“Honda HRC wishes to thank Iker Lecuona for his dedication and professionalism throughout these four years together.”

The post Ducati signs Iker Lecuona for 2026 WorldSBK season appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Serafino Foti has denied speculation that the factory Ducati team has approached Moto2 rider Aron Canet for the 2026 WorldSBK season.

After Ducati opted not to extend Alvaro Bautista’s contract for a second year, one of the most in-demand seats in WorldSBK is open for next season.

Whoever replaces the two-time champion will have big shoes to fill, with Ducati having confirmed it will consider riders from both the MotoGP and WorldSBK paddocks as potential candidates.

One possible name that cropped up in the 2026 rider line-up rumour mill was Canet, who currently lies second in the Moto2 championship.

The Aruba.it Racing boss refuted rumours linking Canet to Ducati in an interview with GPOne, stating: “Absolutely not! At the moment, we haven’t made any offer for 2026.

“We’re making assessments, but not offer has been made by Ducati or Aruba.

“We aren’t in any hurry. In fact, we actually received several proposals from the riders since the Panigale V4 is the most coveted bike in the paddock.

“We’ll wait, evaluate the development of the situation, and then decide.”

Aron Canet previously shared his two possible routes for 2026

In a recent interview with Speedweek, Canet expressed that his career is at a crossroads, with two possible options for his future.

“The goal of every rider is to go to MotoGP,” said Canet.

“I got a lot of good results, but I never received an offer.

“Maybe the time has come to move to the Superbike World Championship or to ride Moto2 for another two or three years to win the title.

“I have two opinions. I’ll go to Superbikes, ride there for another 10 or 12 years, fight for the title every year and become world champion.

“Or I’ll stay in Moto2 for another three or four years and become the rider with the most titles.”

There are rumours that Canet could join BMW in 2026, taking the place of WorldSBK star Toprak Razgatlioglu.

READ MORE – Alvaro Bautista: ‘There’s still nothing on the table’ for 2026 WorldSBK season

The post Ducati denies making contract offer to Aron Canet for 2026 WorldSBK seat appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Marc Marquez has likened his 2025 MotoGP form to the peak performances that earned him titles in 2014 and 2019.

The Spaniard’s dominance in 2014 and 2019 set a high benchmark in MotoGP, and he is showing similar form in 2025 in his debut season with factory Ducati.

Marquez’s grand prix win at Brno makes him the first Ducati rider to win five races in a row, extending his championship lead to 120 points heading into the summer break.

“I’m in one of the best moments of my career; I feel like I did in 2019 or 2014,” the Spaniard explained to Speedweek.

“”I’m driving very well, I’m calm, and I can manage the races. I have to maintain this mentality and focus, and I can only thank my team.

“We mustn’t forget that this is a new team for me. At the same time, that made the first races of the season more interesting for me.

“We had some leeway from the start – when we had the perfect connection, we were able to improve significantly.”

Marc Marquez admits 2025 MotoGP title is his to lose

For the first time in 2025, the 32-year-old has now revealed that the destination of the 2025 MotoGP title is in his hands.

Marquez previously played the underdog at certain races he felt less confident about, but with the gap in the championship, he believes the title is now his to lose.

“For me the only priority is to win the title,” he stated via GPOne.

“I try to be honest, now I can only lose it. There are 10 GPs left, I have to keep the same mentaility and the team the same spirit.

“I don’t care about records, I just want to be champion again.

“We only talk about records when someone is about to break them. I won five races in a row before, but it’s now more difficult because there are also Sprints.

“I will try bring home 37 points every weekend, but sometimes it won’t be possible.”

READ MORE – Marc Marquez dominates to land fifth successive MotoGP victory in Brno

The post Marc Marquez likens his 2025 MotoGP form to 2019 and 2014 title wins appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Maverick Vinales admitted it was a “big mistake” to reject an offer from Ducati to partner Andrea Dovizioso in its factory MotoGP team in 2019.

Vinales joined Yamaha in 2017 and was touted as a potential World Champion after becoming the first rider to win with a team on debut in six years; however, a push for a title failed to materialise in his four years with the team.

The Spanish rider revealed he had been offered the chance to ride for the factory Ducati team in 2019 while he was riding for Yamaha, but rejected the offer due to advice given by his management. 

Vinales admitted it was a “big mistake” not to sign the contract, but conceded he was unsure whether it would have brought him the world championship. 

“I had received an offer from the factory team for 2019-20 as Dovizioso’s partner,” Vinales told Spanish newspaper AS. 

“I trusted the people who managed me and said no. It was a big mistake. 

“Would I have won the title? I have no idea. Things happen for a reason, maybe I would have fallen and I couldn’t race anymore.”

Vinales also expressed regret over how his exit from Yamaha was handled in 2021, stating he’d lost 17 million euros exiting his contract early due to an angry attempt to damage his engine at the Styrian Grand Prix.

The Spaniard joined Aprilia after his release from Yamaha, but admitted he could have achieved better results staying with the Iwata-based factory. 

“I left Yamaha in 2021 when I could’ve had a valid contract until 2022,” Vinales said, “I gave up 17 million euros, the Monster sponsor and other things. 

“With Aprilia, however, it was different. Looking back, I’d stay with Yamaha because I would’ve achieved more results. 

“The only year I hadn’t won anything in those colours was 2018, since the team followed Rossi’s instructions. Valentino is nice, but he’s a very clever guy and he wants to excel.”

Maverick Vinales: ‘I think the time will come’ to be MotoGP champion

Vinales also spoke of his ambitions to become a MotoGP World Champion, and still expressed belief that he could one day win the title.

“I’ll make it even if I don’t know when,” Vinales said of his chances to win a title. 

“This year, in terms of race wins, a lot will depend on the opportunities. In Qatar, I wasn’t ready but maybe if I get another chance it’ll be different. 

“Maybe I could have pushed harder to make it, but I think the time will come. Of course it’s not easy and Marquez shouldn’t be so strong and my bike has to respond well.”

The Spanish rider also confirmed he remains happy with his situation at KTM despite the financial situation.

“What do I like about this brand? The people and the energising connection,” Vinales said.

“The RC16 itself has potential, even if it’s not easy to ride. You need to be careful all the time. 

“20 per cent more gas in acceleration doesn’t make it better, and 10 per cent is not enough. You also need to be precise.”

Vinales also admitted he was frustrated by the lack of concessions for KTM, but suggested that the manufacturer was moving in the right direction towards potential race victories. 

“It would be perfect to have more freedom for aerodynamics and increase the number of tests. For example, Yamaha and Honda will soon have two extra days in Brno.”

“In my opinion, all together we can make this project successful. We’re at a stage where collaboration is essential.”

The post Maverick Vinales: ‘It was a big mistake’ to reject Ducati MotoGP deal appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Marc Marquez has called for “respect for all” MotoGP riders, after criticism of younger brother Alex Marquez surfaced during the Assen weekend.

The eight-time World Champion won both races at Assen after being pressured by brother Alex in the Sprint and Marco Bezzecchi in the main race.

However, the younger Marquez faced criticism for failing to overtake his older brother after Saturday’s race, despite appearing to be the quicker of the pair. 

After Bezzecchi was also unable to find a race-winning overtake on the Spanish rider during the main race, Marquez called for “respect” for all MotoGP riders. 

“It was really difficult,” Marquez said about Bezzecchi’s challenge.

“And coming from this question, I want to say to the people that they need to respect all the riders.

“Because yesterday in the media scrum they start to say your brother didn’t attack you as the other riders. Even some mechanics told me on social media people start to talk about things.

“And today Marco, why didn’t he attack me? In the end, if the front rider is in a very equal level, in this race track that is super narrow, you cannot attack the front riders.

“So, yesterday I defended Alex in the best way possible and today I defended Marco in the best way possible.

Marquez admitted his superior braking allowed him to take victory in both races, and reiterated all MotoGP riders “want to win.”

“And I knew that they were faster in that Turn 11/12, which is the fastest area and the narrowest area, narrow corners, and then if you are on the good line they cannot attack you.

“I was just strong on the brake points, so I defended in a very good way. In that way, I took 37 points.

“But one more time: respect the MotoGP riders because all of them defend their colours, defend their teams and all the grid wants to win, but the problem is only one can win.”

Marquez: ‘I raced with exactly the same set-up as Mugello’ in Assen MotoGP Triumph

Marquez continued his dominance by recording his third consecutive victory, and he will look to keep his streak going as he heads to the Sachsenring, a circuit where he has won 11 times in the past. 

The Spanish rider said he raced with the same bike as he did when he took his victories at Mugello, but revealed Ducati would revert back to the standard aero set-up ahead of the German GP. 

“Honestly speaking I raced with exactly the same set-up as Mugello, we didn’t touch anything,” Marquez said. 

“Just the biggest difference was the aerodynamics, but it was just because I crashed with one bike in FP1, on the third lap, and then I jumped to the second bike with the new aero.

“I get used to it and I said ‘ok, we keep it’, because one of my strong points of my riding style is getting used to the situation and getting used to the bike.

“Then of course in Sachsenring we will come back [to the standard aero] and retry again because it’s not very clear that it’s better or worse.”

READ MORE – Marc Marquez triumphs to take Assen MotoGP race victory

The post Marc Marquez demands respect for brother Alex Marquez after ‘difficult’ Assen MotoGP weekend appeared first on Motorsport Week.

After failing to secure a podium at his Grand Prix at Mugello, Francesco Bagnaia admitted that it’s “impossible” to see himself winning the 2025 MotoGP title.

The two-time MotoGP champion has endured a difficult 2025 campaign due to a lack of front-end feel on his GP25 Ducati. However, he remained optimistic about being competitive at a track where he had previously won three Sunday consecutive races.

Despite starting second, Bagnaia once again lost out to title rivals Marc and Alex Marquez, and on Sunday, he surrendered the final podium place to VR46 Ducati rider Fabio Di Giannantonio.

Following the weekend’s events, the Italian sits 110 points behind his own team-mate, and 70 points behind Alex Marquez in the championship.

Bagnaia has now admitted that the gap in the standings, combined with his ongoing lack of front-end feel after the ninth round, may be too much for him to overcome.

“Like this, it’s impossible to think about winning the championship,” Bagnaia told Autosport post-race.

“If I’m doing races like this, if we are not changing something on the bike and the bike remains the same, I think that it’s difficult to think about the championship.

“So we just need to do something different, hoping to find the solution.

“I think the potential is there. I know that I can fight for the win, I know that what I did in the first six, seven laps is something that I can do always. I just need to feel good with my bike.

“I was quite confident the first part of the race, I was feeling good and then after six laps, the front started to drop. I needed to slow down because I was risking to crash.”

Francesco Bagnaia: ‘I can’t do what I want on the bike’

Bagnaia admitted that his inability to find front-end feeling nearly forced him to end his race early in the gravel traps.

“The problem is that this season it’s always like this,” he stated.

“I cannot do what I want on the bike. I need to follow what the bike has to do, and when I try to do what I want, I crash, or almost.

“Today, I was almost on the ground in the last corner when I tried just to do the same line as I did always.

“From the first race, it is like this. I maybe start well, then I do all the race watching the brothers, what they are doing, hoping a mistake from them to maybe have a chance to overtake.”

He added: “But like this it’s not possible, because I’m there, stuck in between seven, eight tenths, then I try to push to catch back, I arrive to two, three tenths, and then I need to slow down again because the front is starting to understeer everywhere.

“It changes in a lap. You feel okay, you are pushing, you are there, close. You can have a chance, you can overtake. And then from a lap, you start to have understeer, movement, and it’s impossible to be competitive like you were in the first laps.”

The post Francesco Bagnaia explains why it’s ‘impossible’ to have the 2025 MotoGP title on his mind appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Factory Ducati rider Marc Marquez branded his Mugello MotoGP win as “unexpected” despite establishing a two second cushion over the rest of the field.

The Spaniard converted his 100th career pole to a 93rd career win at the Italian Grand Prix, crossing the line 1.942s ahead of his brother Alex Marquez.

He came out on top after a scrap with Marquez and team-mate Francesco Bagnaia in the first half of the race, with all three riders leading at one stage.

The race-winning move came on Lap 9, after which he dominated the second half, but the Spaniard hadn’t anticipated a victory was on the cards.

“I rate this weekend as Qatar – an unexpected victory,” Marquez said in MotoGP’s After the Flag.

“It’s that kind of track where normally I need to defend, but I was able to attack and take even more points against Alex.

“[He] is the main opponent at the moment because he’s super constant and super-fast, and has very strong points, especially on those fast right corners.”

Marc Marquez reveals what he told himself throughout the MotoGP Mugello race

The 32-year-old admitted he didn’t want to replicate the mistake he made at Jerez when he crashed out early on while losing ground on the leaders.

Marquez described what he was telling himself during the early phases while battling alongside his nearest championship rivals.

“I was breathing more than normal because already in Jerez I crashed in the second, third lap,” he said.

“So today I was just repeating in my mind that ‘the race is super long’.

“And like this, I tried to be inside the battle because my target was to lead the race, but at the same time I tried to manage the tyres.

“I saw that Pecco was pushing the tyres a lot and then I said ‘ok, let’s see what I can do’.

“But then I saw Alex overtook us, then I already understood that Alex had another pace.

“Then I jumped behind him and I just waited for that middle part of the race when I started to feel better.”

He added: “I mean, I was just trying to be on that 1m47s lows, some 1m46s but it was too risky.

“But I saw that the gap was increasing and then I tried to manage the situation. Then when I took those 1.5s, 2s, I just managed the race.”

Marquez ended a decade-long wait to claim his first MotoGP win in Tuscany since the 2014 season.

READ MORE – Marc Marquez prevails to take victory in frenetic Mugello MotoGP race

The post Marc Marquez: Mugello MotoGP win ‘unexpected’ despite two second cushion appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Francesco Bagnaia has acknowledged “there’s a problem” if he’s not fighting at the sharp end of the MotoGP grid at this weekend’s Grand Prix at Mugello.

After winning the last three Grand Prix at Mugello, the two-time MotoGP champion heads into his home race aiming for a fourth consecutive victory.

Bagnaia indicated that a strong result at his home race is important for regaining confidence in his 2025 campaign.

“It will be very important because if I will not be competitive here, we can say there’s a problem,” Bagnaia admitted.

“So I will try to fight for it. I know that I’m not in the situation of imagining a win in both races. Because we know how strong Marc was this season and we know how strong Alex was this season.

“So it will be important to restart from Sunday in Aragon and try to [improve] our pace session by session.”

The Italian changed from the standard 340mm to larger 355mm front disc during the warm-up session at Aragon, which improved his front end feeling on the GP25.

Post-race he reflected that the new feeling and securing a podium “felt like a victory,” but his mindset is different for his home race.

He disclosed that he would change back to the 340mm brakes for Mugello, but admitted that the Marquez brothers were more competitive.

“We have to be realistic and consider that the last GP until the race was quite difficult for me,” Bagnaia said.

“Then it’s true that I gained some confidence [with the 355mm brakes] for the Sunday race, but it’s true also that I finished in the same place as the start of the season, in third place.

“I was close to them, but Marc [Marquez] was playing. I was there with Alex [Marquez] fighting and he finished in front of me. So I think is a good point to restart, but we need to do another step this weekend and it’s the correct track to try to do it.”

“This track it’s more difficult to use the 355 because the temperature of the brake is not arriving to the [correct] temperature for the disc.

“So we will try starting with the standard one that are the 340mm with the low mass and hope to not have any kind of issues like we had in the past.

“But I think that this track, we need the brakes obviously, but less than other tracks, which maybe could be better for us.”

The Torinese rider sits 93 points behind his team-mate after the first eight rounds of the championship.

Bagnaia is looking to close the championship gap after a difficult 2025 season so far, with his sole victory coming in Texas following Marquez’s crash from the lead.

READ MORE – Andrea Dovizioso returns to Yamaha as MotoGP test rider

The post Francesco Bagnaia: There’s ‘a problem’ if I’m not competitive at Mugello MotoGP appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Aruba.it Racing Ducati rider Nicolo Bulega admitted he is “not interested” in notoriety despite leading the WorldSBK championship.

Bulega joined the WorldSBK grid last season and immediately drew attention by winning six races and finishing as runner-up in the standings to Toprak Razgatlioglu. 

The momentum from Bulega’s rookie season has continued into this campaign, as he leads the championship after dominating the Phillip Island and Cremona rounds, as well as picking up victories in Assen and Most. 

The Italian admitted his current WorldSBK form is the best he has ridden in his career so far.

“I have never been at such a good level in my career,” Bulega said via GPOne. 

“After a promising start and some difficulties, now I have recovered well thanks to the help of many people, having fun on the bike. As a result, everything comes easier.”

Despite his recent record making him one of WorldSBK’s biggest draws, Bulega revealed he tends to shy away from the limelight in favour of solely focusing on races and results.

“I don’t like being in the spotlight, much less being a character,” he admitted.

“If it were up to me, I would disappear when there are interviews, because these are all things that would weigh on me. 

“I’m not one of those who wants notoriety and tries to appear at all costs, because I’m not interested in all that.”

‘I know what it means to hit rock bottom’ – Nicolo Bulega on career resurgence in WorldSBK

Bulega admitted he now focuses on getting results in races, revealing he felt as if he’d reached “rock bottom” in his career at 21 years old, when he left the VR46 academy in 2020.

“In this sport, I have realised that the only thing that matters is getting results, because I know what it means to hit rock bottom. 

“I just want to focus on racing and getting results, knowing that if I wanted to I could make a lot of videos, but I just want to limit them. 

When asked what it meant to hit rock bottom, Bulega responded: “To hit rock bottom means there is no place for you, unless you have €300-400,000 sponsors, which I never had. 

“Many people think otherwise, but I never had sponsors who could pay for my season. 

“So you find yourself at 21, with nothing, with a life ahead of you that you don’t know what to do.” 

Now thriving in WorldSBK, leading the championship after scoring two perfect weekends in 2025, Bulega said he aims to “optimise” his current performances.

“I just think about doing my best on the track, staying focused on performance,” the Italian affirmed. 

“Maybe someone has changed his mind about me and that’s good, even though to date I haven’t won anything except for a few races. 

“Unfortunately, I can’t go back in my life and recover from my mistakes but I would just like to optimise the present.”

The post Nicolo Bulega: Results ‘the only thing that matters’ in WorldSBK appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Nicolo Bulega admitted he and Ducati had to start from scratch after his Superpole WorldSBK race collision with Axel Bassani at Misano.

The championship leader’s Superpole race was compromised when Bimota’s Axel Bassani lost the front at Turn 1 at the start.

As a result, Bulega’s title rival Toprak Razgatlioglu secured the Superpole race win which cut the championship gap to 14-points.

“He told me he lost his front end when he braked,” Bulega told Speedweek post-race.

“But I saw on TV afterwards that his front wheel slipped after he touched me. If he hadn’t touched me, it wouldn’t have happened.

“He didn’t have the pace to win. So why make such a stupid overtaking manoeuvre in the first corner? It was a rookie mistake.”

Bulega stated that Bassani was “looking for excuses” to avoid responsibility for the crash, claiming his fellow countryman told him that his front wheel folded under braking into the corner.

“On top of that, he didn’t come to me to apologize to me and my team—he just made an Instagram story.

“That’s not enough, also out of respect for my team, because they had to rebuild my bike. Everything was destroyed, including the chassis.

“The least he could have done would have been to apologise to me and my team.”

Nicolo Bulega: Toprak Razgatlioglu ‘was strong all weekend’

To add insult to injury, Bulega was forced to start Race 2 from 10th but fought back to finish second, but the championship gap cut further to just nine points.

However, the Italian conceded he was second-best to the reigning WorldSBK champion, who completed back-to-back trebles on the Adriatic coast.

 “I haven’t had a consistently good feeling all weekend. It was good in qualifying, but not at other times. We need to understand why that was.

“Second place isn’t a bad result, but it’s my home race and my team’s, and we wanted to achieve more. Congratulations to Toprak, he was very strong all weekend.”

The post Nicolo Bulega: Axel Bassani Misano WorldSBK Superpole race collision ‘destroyed everything’ appeared first on Motorsport Week.