Vierge a hard fought seventh in race 1 at Mandalika, Lecuona feels like himself again

“Even more than usual I want to say a big thanks to the team because after a difficult Australian round they came up with the perfect plan to bring my confidence back. We knew that our race pace was quite strong here but unfortunately, I again struggled to exploit the qualifying session. I made some mistakes that caused me to lose two or three tenths which set me back on the grid considering how close everyone’s times were. And it makes a big difference whether you start on the first three rows or further back. Having said that, my start was very good and I soon made up a few positions. I was able to stick with the front guys, part of a group of very strong and competitive riders. I did my best to manage the tyres until the end but the battle was tough and I lost a little ground through the middle of the race and one position on the very last lap but, all in all, it was a good race and now we will try to make some small refinements to the setup in order to try and be just a little faster tomorrow. But again, thank you so much to the team for the support they give me each time.”

“I’m so happy after the first race here in Mandalika because I now feel like "Iker" again on the bike. I was able to ride again, maybe not like in Australia because I’m still missing something, but I began to regain my confidence lap by lap, and also during the race. We had a bit of bad luck in qualifying because I could have finished around P10 but I didn’t see a yellow flag and so had my lap time cancelled. We placed P16 in the end, which made a big difference, also because my start was not good and I found myself in almost last position through turn one. I soon recovered though and felt very good throughout the race. My pace was unbelievable and I set my fastest lap time on lap 15, which meant I could lap in the mid ’33s right to the end. I made up a lot of ground with respect to the group up ahead, made up of Xavi and some other strong guys. So I don’t think P12 reflects our true level here, but we must focus on the positives which make us very happy. Our pace was great and I was able to ride in a relaxed way and enjoy the racing.”