Bulega and Lecuona power their way to a provisional first and second place on a scorching hot Friday at MotorLand Aragon.

Free practice for the Aragon Round, the sixth weekend of the 2026 WorldSBK season, put the riders to the test amid sweltering temperatures of nearly 40°C in the air, with peak track temperatures of 60°C recorded.

Nicolò Bulega and Iker Lecuona put in a solid performance on Friday, finishing first and second in the combined standings.

The Italian rider carried out meticulous set-up work, setting the fastest time of the day in FP1 (1'48.916).

Just 22 thousandths of a second behind was his team-mate, who took the top spot in FP2 (albeit with a significantly slower lap time due to the prohibitive weather conditions) before a crash at the end of the session, which had no consequences.

Nicolò Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #11)
“I'm happy because we've done a really good job, trying out different solutions in different directions, and this has given us a very clear picture of the situation. Iker and Sam (Lowes) are very close, so it will be important to keep on working. The temperature? Really high, but it's the same for everyone.”

Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7)
“I'm sorry about the crash and for causing my team extra work. It was my mistake; there's not much else to say. I didn't even need to look at the data because I knew exactly what I had done wrong. The day, however, was very positive. Despite the weather conditions, the feeling was immediately very good. We need to sort out a few details, and we'll do that tomorrow.”