Ducati Sporting Club UK > News Items > Ducati Press Releases > Bulega second and Lecuona fifth after free practice for the Portuguese Round in Portimão.

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WSBK | 27 March 2026

Bulega second and Lecuona fifth after free practice for the Portuguese Round in Portimão.

Friday at Portimão ends with both Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team's riders in the top five.

Nicolò Bulega finished second in both FP1 and FP2, behind Sam Lowes (Ducati). The Italian rider's feeling was not yet perfect, but he remains confident ahead of tomorrow's and Sunday's races.

Iker Lecuona started the weekend with great determination and already found a positive feeling with his Ducati Panigale V4 R in FP1. In the afternoon, despite a small crash without consequences, the Spanish rider improved on his morning time by over two-tenths of a second, finishing in fifth place.

Nicolò Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #11)
“The final position isn't bad, but I can't say the feeling is the best it could be. After all, I expected to encounter a few more difficulties than in Australia, but that doesn't mean I'm not feeling very confident about the weekend, partly because the pace is solid. I'm sure that tomorrow we'll be able to sort out those details that will allow us to take a significant step forward.”

Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7)
“I'm really pleased with how things went today. The team and I did a great job. I'm really enjoying working with them because we're all on the same page: taking it one step at a time, race by race. The feeling is good and I feel we still have plenty of potential to tap into. The crash? Nothing serious, but it gave us some insights into tyre choice, especially the front tyre.”