Iker Lecuona has moved away from victory as his immediate objective for the WorldSBK finale at Jerez. After Friday’s two free-practice sessions, the Ducati rider is instead targeting second place, with Nicolo Bulega already showing a clear advantage at the Spanish circuit.

That situation follows an outstanding Cremona round for Lecuona, who won all three races there in September. Bulega finished second in each of those races and secured the title, then answered with a clean sweep at Estoril the following week. He had also won all three Jerez races last year and again set the pace in both Friday sessions this time. Lecuona was third in both, more than two-tenths of a second behind Bulega.

A difficult feel and rapid tyre wear

Lecuona described the day as difficult, saying he could not find a good feeling with the bike. His lap times were inconsistent in the morning, while an afternoon attempt with something new failed to produce the desired improvement and the tyre was destroyed quickly. The final run gave him a somewhat more competitive and consistent rhythm, but it did not change the overall picture. Although FP2 took place in higher temperatures, Lecuona said the negative feeling remained much the same as in FP1.

His team will now go through the data from both sessions in search of a better direction for the next day. Lecuona expects Sam Lowes and Surra to be quick, and also identifies Montella as another strong rival at Jerez. He believes Bulega has extra speed, but his own target is clear: finish the year with three second places and use the winter to find a way back into the fight for victories. Jerez is also Bulega’s final WorldSBK round before his move to MotoGP.