Bulega tops WorldSBK French Round practice; Lecuona third despite FP2 crash
Ducati's Nicolò Bulega was quickest in WorldSBK French Round free practice, with Iker Lecuona third in combined order despite an FP2 crash.
- 1'35.556
- 1'35.989
- around 45 degrees
What Happened
Free practice for the French Round, the ninth round of the 2026 WorldSBK season, ended with Italian rider Nicolò Bulega and Iker Lecuona first and third in the combined standings for Aruba.it Racing – Ducati. Bulega was fastest in the morning FP1 session in better track conditions, then stayed first in the afternoon despite higher temperatures of about 45 degrees on the tarmac. Lecuona, after finishing third in FP1, crashed in FP2 without serious consequences, forcing him to break up his set-up work.
1'35.556
Set in FP1; he could not improve in the hotter FP2.
1'35.989
Crashed in FP2 but remained third in the combined order.
“I can't say I'm satisfied with this first day. I'm still missing something in terms of feel because I can't ride my Panigale V4 R the way I'd like to. But at the same time, I'm sure that, with my team, we'll manage to find some set-up solutions that will allow us to take a step forward tomorrow.”
“We've worked hard on the set-up, trying out some new ideas as well. Given our position in the standings, it will be important to focus on this in the final stage of the season as well to gather useful data for the future. The crash? Nothing out of the ordinary, but I'd like to thank the team for their extraordinary work, which enabled me to get back on track.”
Previously from Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A.
Bulega entered the French Round as the 2026 WorldSBK title leader with a 133-point advantage after the series' summer break. The round was the ninth of the season at Magny-Cours Circuit, France.
Background drawn from MotorClaw's earlier coverage of Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A.'s official releases.
Why this matters
Free practice opened the 2026 WorldSBK French Round at Magny-Cours, the ninth round of the season. Bulega and Lecuona's top-three combined results put Aruba.it Racing – Ducati at the front of the field on the first day. Lecuona's own comments say the team is also working on set-up now to gather useful data for the final stage of the season.
Terms in This Story
- WorldSBK
- The Superbike World Championship, a production-based motorcycle road racing series.
- FP1/FP2
- Free Practice 1 and Free Practice 2, the first two practice sessions at a race weekend.
- set-up
- The configuration of a motorcycle's suspension, geometry, and other adjustable elements.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.