The puzzle pieces are gradually fitting. After knowing that Jonathan Rea will retire at the end of the season and that Razgatlioglu goes to MotoGP, it was known what would happen with another heavyweight like Álvaro Bautista. The Talaverano pilot, two -time WSBK and Ducati officer until the end of the season, had no place in the structure for 2026.
Despite this, Álvaro had made clear his intentions to continue and now we finally know that he will do it and also piloting the new Panigale V4 that, precisely, is testing during the Aragon tests. In fact, already had what the Baptist himself has commented, he will have the support of Ducati, so despite moving on to an independent structure, he will have a competitive package with which to continue demonstrating his potential.
“I want to thank Barni for the trust and interest he has shown in me. Just after the announcement that it would be free by 2026, he contacted me without hesitation, and that means a lot to me. I am happy to continue in the Ducati family, where I have already achieved great successes, and I think that together with Barni we can get great results. The team grows year after year and this agreement is another step.”
“It will require commitment, since I will work with new people, but I have confidence because I see in Barni a great motivation and competitive spirit. I want to demonstrate that I can still win. The last two years have not been easy for the new regulations, but now, with the new Panigale V4 and the support of Ducati, we will have everything necessary to be competitive. The goal is to achieve our maximum level and, from there, aspire to more.
Lecuona will occupy the Baptist position in the official team
Meanwhile, it will be Iker Lecuona who occupied the position left by Bacante Bautista. After jumping to the WSBK by Honda in 2022, the Valencian pilot has taken steps along with a CBR1000RR-R that has not finished being the expected competitive.
Even so, it has continued to grow in the category and in addition to competing in the WSBK, it has also jumped on track as a motorcycle pilot in different large awards in substitution of official pilots in the category. From 2026, therefore, Lecuona is called to take a new step and be a regular in the battle for the podiums and the victories, something that for the moment has not been able to achieve and that Iker removing oil from the CBR has been able to add two podiums in Assen 2022 and Portugal 2024 and a pole in the ronda of Montmeló of 2022.
In this case there are no statements by Iker himself, but from HRC, thanking the work of Spanish, who still continues to recover from the injuries suffered in Batalon Park: “Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) and the Iker Lecuona pilot will end their collaboration at the end of the 2025 season of the Superbike World Championship.”
Continue: “Since he joined Honda HRC in 2022, Lecuona has demonstrated his dedication and competitive spirit, working side by side with his team to constantly improve and stay in the fight for Top 10. His best results in Worldsbk include two podiums, in Assen 2022 and Estoril 2024.”
He concludes: “In addition, he has represented the brand as a substitute in several MotoGP tests and was part of the winning team of the 8 hours of Suzuka 2022, piloting the CBR1000RR-R Sp. Honda HRC thanks Iker Lecuona for his dedication and professionalism during these four years of joint work.” Now both Bautista and Lecuona will focus on the end of the season and that is still four rounds ahead, one of them in Motorland and another in Jerez.
