Iker Lecuona says he wasn’t ready for MotoGP but had to ‘take the opportunity’ after his two year stint came to an end
Follow Us
Iker Lecuona
An opportunity to race in the premier class of MotoGP doesn’t come frequently and Iker Lecuona is glad he took it after looking back at his two year stint in MotoGP with KTM. The Honda WorldSBK rider thinks that he made the right move when he accepted KTM’s hurried offer to compete in MotoGP with Tech 3 Racing for 2020. After he made his Moto2 debut in 2017, Iker Lecuona ended his second year campaign as the rider who was best placed behind Brad Binder on the KTM Chassis.
The offer from KTM was one that many riders hardly get so it was an obvious decision for the 19 year old Valencian rider when he accepted their offer and debuted in the premier class during the 2019 MotoGP finale in Valencia.
Read more : MotoGP confirmed riders grid for the 2023 season so far
“KTM gave me the chance and I took it” : Iker Lecuona
“I wasn’t ready, but when I had the opportunity I said yes because you don’t know what happens in the future, so in this case KTM gave me the chance and I took it,” said Iker on his move to KTM.
“I don’t think I was ready to make the jump,” he repeats. “But I knew if KTM gave me some time, I could learn quickly and I could fight for the top. By the end of the first year I was fighting in the top ten, fighting with Valentino in Austria and I was P6 in Misano with two laps to go.”
“It is a different philosophy in general, in MotoGP you need time as a rider and in my case I didn’t have a lot of it. I am [was] a rookie, and you want to go quickly to the top but I needed more time.” he continued.
Iker Lecuona is currently racing with Honda in the WorldSBK championship and is currently in 6th place in the standings. Do you think he could come back to MotoGP anytime soon?
Stay Updated!
Varad Joshi
(940 Articles Published)