Iker Lecuona returns to MotoGP to replace Alex Marquez
The factory Ducati rider in WorldSBK will replace the injured Alex Márquez at Balaton Park this weekend, where Cal Crutchlow will also replace Johann Zarco
Iker Lecuona, Ducati Aruba.IT
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images
World Superbike rider Iker Lecuona will replace the injured Alex Marquez at this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix for the Gresini Racing MotoGP outfit.
Marquez suffered a serious crash at the Catalan Grand Prix on 17 May which forced him to miss last weekend’s Mugello race with the Spaniard also skipping the Balaton Park round.
Lecuona is therefore set to start his first MotoGP race since Qatar in 2023, having since competed in WorldSBK and is currently second in the 2026 standings.
An announcement from Gresini on Tuesday said: "Iker Lecuona, number 27, will return to the MotoGP paddock, replacing Alex Marquez, number 73, at the Balaton Park circuit for the eighth round of the season.
Qatar was the penultimate round of 2023 and Lecuona competed for the LCR Honda team replacing the then-injured Alex Rins for what was his 37th start in the category.
He started his world championship career in Moto2 in 2016 and, after four seasons, at the end of the final campaign he made his premier class debut for KTM in Valencia.
Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing crash
Photo by: DANIEL BALLARIN / AFP via Getty Images
Lecuona spent the next two years at KTM in MotoGP before moving to Honda in WorldSBK for 2022, meaning this weekend’s race is his first grand prix aboard a Ducati.
Cal Crutchlow to continue with LCR for Zarco
Lecuona is not the only stand-in rider this weekend as Cal Crutchlow is set to continue after making his MotoGP return at Mugello to replace the injured Johann Zarco for LCR Honda.
That was the Briton’s first MotoGP race since 2023 and the 40-year-old performed respectably before retiring with a shoulder problem.
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