Iker Lecuona believes he showed his ‘speed and potential’ on his MotoGP return after delivering a standout result for Gresini at Balaton Park.
With Alex Marquez being sidelined after his incident at the Grand Prix of Catalunya, Michele Pirro stood in for the Spaniard at the Grand Prix of Italy.
However, for the Grand Prix of Hungary, Lecuona was given the chance to replace Marquez on the Ducati GP26.
The WorldSBK rider had not appeared in MotoGP since the Grand Prix of Qatar in 2023, when he replaced Alex Rins at LCR Honda.
Lecuona’s return to MotoGP got off to a positive start after he qualified in 16th place, but he was only able to finish the Sprint race on Saturday afternoon in 18th.
But come Sunday in the Grand Prix, the 26-year-old was not only able to secure points, but he was able to finish comfortably inside the top ten.
In the early stages of the race, Lecuona benefited from the Lap 1 collision that saw five of the front-runners crash at the opening corner.
At the end of the opening lap, the Gresini rider found himself in the points in 13th place, and by half race distance, Lecuona had made his way into the top ten as he was in ninth.
By the time Lecuona had reached the chequered flag at the end of the 26 Lap race, he crossed the line in seventh place and picked up nine points.
After returning to MotoGP, Lecuona told Speedweek, “It was a nice comeback in seventh place.
“When I saw Martin brake for the first corner, I and everyone around me knew it was going to be dangerous. So we braked even harder and made it through the corner.
“At first, I thought the race might be stopped. Luckily, it seems no one was seriously injured, which is a positive. I broke my arm in the first corner myself a year ago.
“I’m absolutely delighted with my race. I had to take a wider line more often than I expected. This cost me a lot of time before I caught and overtook Miller.
“After that, I saw Moreira and wanted to get him, but it didn’t work out. I’m very grateful for this fantastic opportunity.
“I was able to show my speed and my potential. I give myself a 10 out of 10.”
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