Iker Lecuona is enjoying his status as a factory rider in WorldSBK with Honda like never before, especially after his bitter stint in MotoGP within the ranks of Tech 3 KTM. The Valencian pilot reached the queen category of the motorcycling world championship almost by reboundthe result of the divorce between Johann Zarco and KTM in the middle of 2019, a decision that finally forced Hervé Poncharal, owner of Tech 3, to modify his pair of pilots for 2020 at the last minute.
Poncharal was, in addition to being Lecuona’s boss, a great ally of the Spanish driver within Tech3; The team manager would have liked to give the Valencian more time within his structure, but KTM is the one who has the last word when it comes to forming the French team’s box, and when the Austrians decided to promote Remy Gardner and Raúl Fernández to MotoGP from a stroke of the pen, both Lecuona and Danilo Petrucci were the two major victims.
In an interview collected by Crash.net, Poncharal explains that, initially, his team for 2020 “it was made up of Brad Binder and Miguel Oliveira”but when Zarco left KTM in the middle of 2019, “it was decided that Brad Binder would not be with us the following year and would replace Zarco”, a piece of news that Poncharal found out about “at Phillip Island, so I was left without a pilot very late.”
Hervé had to look for another young talent to replace Brad Binder, and then he noticed Iker Lecuona: “I told myself: ‘I would like to bet on that young driver: Iker Lecuona’. At KTM they were a little scared, but I said, ‘Hey, you already took Brad! Let me do it!’ Iker deserved it”remember now between laughs.
Poncharal was impressed by the speed of the Spaniard in his debut in Valencia 2019, and although he did not finish the race due to a fall, the French director assures that “the potential was there” why “Iker is a very fast rider, he is very talented, he is a beast and he can master many bikes, including a MotoGP.”
After a 2020 learning period, the 2021 season arrived, a course that did not start well for Lecuona, unable to score more than one point in the first four races. His bad results in the first half of the year They were decisive to remain without a seat in Tech 3 with a view to 2022especially seeing the dominance that Remy Gardner and Raúl Fernández were exhibiting in Moto2, both with a direct access ticket to MotoGP under their arms.
“2021 was a bit of a disappointing season for Iker compared to 2020”, tells Hervé Poncharal. “And there was the possibility of going up to the riders who were first and second in Moto2. There were many discussions and the decision was made. This does not mean that nobody trusted Iker’s potential. Sometimes you have to make a decision, for better or worse. That was the decision and of course if you open up a gap in Moto2 then it’s easier for Acosta to move up and for the young riders to take his place in Moto3.”
When Poncharal learned that Lecuona would not have a place in his team beyond 2021, he did everything possible to find him a good seat as a driver. In MotoGP there were no more bikes available, so he did not hesitate to praise Lecuona when Alberto Puig contacted him to assess his signing in another World Cup paddock, that of Superbikes.
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“I spoke with Alberto Puig at Silverstone and he asked me many things about Iker”, explica Poncharal. “Honestly, I told him only good things, including that I would sign Lecuona if I were him.. If Iker hadn’t joined MotoGP, I don’t think he would have had that offer. So I’m very happy to have put Iker Lecuona on the radar.” sentence Poncharal with some pride.