Bulega tops both practice sessions at Donington, Lecuona third
Nicolò Bulega led FP1 and FP2 at Donington Park, setting a best lap of 1'25.460, while teammate Iker Lecuona placed third overall.
- 1'25.460
- 1'25.710
- 1st
- 1st
What Happened
Nicolò Bulega dominated Friday practice at Donington Park, finishing first in both FP1 and FP2 with a best lap of 1'25.460 and showing solid race pace. His teammate Iker Lecuona ended the day third in the combined standings after finishing second in FP1 with a time of 1'25.710. Both Aruba.it Racing – Ducati riders completed the afternoon session without changing tyres for their final run.
1'25.460
Fastest time of the day across both sessions.
1'25.710
Third fastest overall, 0.250 seconds behind Bulega.
“I felt quite comfortable with the bike both in the morning and in the afternoon. We are strong in the first two sectors, while we are still missing something in the rest of the track. In any case, the motivation is high because at Donington I have only won in Supersport so far, and I would really like to win here with the Panigale V4R as well.”
“To be honest, the feeling today was not exactly what I expected. I can't quite feel perfectly comfortable on the bike yet, and this does not allow me to ride consistently. At the same time, though, we are certainly not far from Nicolò, so we will have to work to try and close the gap.”
Previously from Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A.
Ducati's Aruba.it Racing team entered the Donington round with a chance to clinch both the Manufacturers' and Teams' championships in the 2026 WorldSBK season.
Background drawn from MotorClaw's earlier coverage of Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A.'s official releases.
Why this matters
Bulega's consistent pace and Lecuona's close times show Ducati's strong form heading into race day at Donington. The team is competitive in the early sectors but aims to improve elsewhere.
Terms in This Story
- FP1/FP2
- Free Practice sessions, where riders test setups and lap times before qualifying and races.
- Combined standings
- Overall ranking of riders based on their best lap times across all practice sessions.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.