Iker Lecuona delivered a sensational performance in WorldSBK Superpole at Cremona, snatching Superpole with a record-breaking 1:27.253 to lead an Aruba.it Ducati 1-2 ahead of championship leader Nicolo Bulega.
The Spanish rider carried his dominant Friday form into Saturday morning, edging out Bulega by just +0.044s. The result marks Lecuona’s second career WorldSBK pole position, his first since Barcelona in 2022 during his tenure with Honda.
Lecuona topped two out of three practice sessions leading into qualifying and held his nerve in Superpole against Nicolo Bulega and Alberto Surra, setting the all-time lap record despite a brief off-track excursion during his hot lap. His time surpassed Bulega’s 2025 pole benchmark to secure prime track position.
Outqualified for the first time by a teammate in WorldSBK, Bulega nevertheless recovered well to lock down P2 after a tumultuous Friday that saw him crash twice. The championship leader faces a critical Race 1, as he holds his first mathematical opportunity to seal the WorldSBK title this Saturday if he can outscore his rival margin by 15 points.
Completing the top three behind the Aruba.it duo, Alberto Surra put in a solid lap to secure P3 after topping the timesheets in FP3. Behind him, Sam Lowes held on to P4 despite going down in Turn 13 in the final minutes of the session.
Yari Montella is set to start in P5, ahead of Lorenzo Baldassarri in P6 and Kawasaki’s Alex Lowes in P7. Garrett Gerloff, Miguel Oliveira, and Thomas Bridewell round out the top 10. Remy Gardner, Xavi Vierge, Axel Bassani and Stefano Manzi complete the top 14 ahead of Andrea Locatelli.
Drama in the midpack
The qualifying session was disrupted by yellow flags as multiple riders crashed while pushing for late lap times.
Besides Lowes’ incident, Axel Bassani crashed in Turns 5 and 6, putting his Bimota P13. Yamaha’s Locatelli was another late casualty, sliding out before the chequered flag to settle for P15, while Jake Dixon suffered an earlier crash in Turn 10, leaving him stranded in P18 on the grid.
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