{"id":740529,"date":"2026-06-16T16:52:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T16:52:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/740529\/"},"modified":"2026-06-16T16:52:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T16:52:12","slug":"im-frustrated-just-because-im-not-at-the-level-i-expected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/740529\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI\u2019m frustrated just because I\u2019m not at the level I expected\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship visited Italy and the iconic Misano World Circuit \u201cMarco Simoncelli\u201d for Round 7 of the 2026 season at the weekend. Nicolo Bulega<\/a> (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) wowed the home fans at the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round as he claimed a hat-trick, but there were other stories brewing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019M FRUSTRATED BECAUSE I WAS FAR FROM MY TEAMMATE\u201d<\/p>\n

Reflecting on another trio of P2 finishes, Iker Lecuona<\/a> (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) said on Sunday: \u201cI don\u2019t want to say I\u2019m not happy with the second because, in the end, it was very positive for the team. I\u2019m frustrated with myself, with my riding, and my potential I want to say. We never change the bike like that, but we completely changed it on Sunday morning. The reality is now with the heat, the SCX and the wind, I think I went wide at Turns 11 and 13. One time, I went very wide at Turn 13, so I just managed the gap to the guys behind me and didn\u2019t think about Nicolo. I\u2019m frustrated because I was far from my teammate. Overall, I understand that Nicolo almost created that bike. He rode it from the beginning. It\u2019s his fifth year with Ducati bikes, third year in WorldSBK. When I get closer, he finds something more, and I\u2019m further away again. I\u2019m not happy here, not for the position, but I\u2019m frustrated just because I\u2019m not at the level I expected. I can\u2019t find the two tenths that he makes and that\u2019s why I\u2019m frustrated. Honestly, I don\u2019t know if he\u2019ll go to MotoGP or not. I said a few times that if he goes to MotoGP, I\u2019ll be really happy for him and he\u2019ll deserve it. On the other side, I\u2019d prefer that he stayed here; not for him, but for me. If he stayed here, I can push myself more and I can learn.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIT\u2019S INCREDIBLE TO GET A HAT-TRICK HERE AT MISANO, IN FRONT OF MY FANS AND THE DUCATI FANS\u201d<\/p>\n

A seventh hat-trick of the year for Bulega, who stated: \u201cIt\u2019s incredible, I\u2019m very happy; more than normal, because this is my home round. It\u2019s incredible to get a hat-trick here at Misano, in front of my fans and the Ducati fans. It was a fantastic weekend. I was able to push from FP1 as I wanted. We didn\u2019t change anything special, just some little things with the settings. I liked the bike on Saturday, but a bit more on Sunday in some areas. If you win, it\u2019s always fantastic. Last year, maybe I had more battles, especially with Toprak; not here at Misano, but at other circuits. If I have to be honest, if you win, it doesn\u2019t matter if you win by one metre or 100. The important thing is to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI STRUGGLED WITH THE FRONT\u2026 AT TURN 8, THE BIKE WAS PUSHING TOO MUCH IN THE LAST PART OF BRAKING\u201d<\/p>\n

On course for a podium, but crashing out of P3, Axel Bassani<\/a> (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) said: \u201cIt\u2019s part of racing, it can be quite good, it can be not good. I think we have to be really happy about the work we\u2019ve done. All weekend, we were in the top four. In the Superpole Race, we were having a good race and in Race 2, we were doing something special. I crashed at Turn 8 because I was trying to stay consistent and control the gap to me and Yari. I lost the front, it\u2019s part of the game. I struggled with the front all race. I tried to control it but at Turn 8, the bike was pushing too much in the last part of the braking, and this happened. We have to be really proud and happy about the work we did. When you lose a podium, it\u2019s always difficult to accept. Especially when it\u2019s at the end of the race, but you have to try to think about the positive things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019M SO SORRY FOR AXEL, BECAUSE I KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO CRASH AT HOME WHEN FIGHTING FOR THE PODIUM\u201d<\/p>\n

Three P3 finishes on home soil for Yari Montella<\/a> (Barni Spark Racing Team), who said: \u201cI\u2019m a bit tired! I was a bit f****d at the start, I was overtaken by Axel because he covered the line, and then I had contact with Alex Lowes. It changed my race from managing the position, trying to control it, it was now about recovering it. I tried to catch Axel, but in the end, when I was in his slipstream, my tyre temperature was high. It was impossible for me to try to overtake him. I was mentally ready to finish third, but if I wanted to do that, I had to push all race. I was close to him, trying to put pressure on him. I tried to make him make a mistake. I don\u2019t know if it worked or if it was just lucky! I\u2019m so sorry for him, because I know what it means to crash at a home race when fighting for the podium. Three podiums at home were not in the plan. I don\u2019t have pressure to be the top rider at the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHE HAD HIS FRIENDS AND FAMILY HERE\u2026 IT WOULD\u2019VE BEEN NICE TO SEE AXEL ON THE PODIUM\u201d<\/p>\n

P4 in Race 2 for Alex Lowes<\/a> (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team), who said: \u201cIt was a good day. Sunday morning was a shame as I felt good in that race, with the SCQ tyre. This weekend, it seemed to really help with the balance of the bike. It was one of those things, a shame to lose the fourth place. Race 2 was quite good. I got a good start from tenth. In the race, I was struggling to stop the bike. We made changes because of the issue in the morning, so the bike was working a bit different. After 10 or 11 laps, I had a track limits warning quite early in the race, so I had to ride a little bit steady. Solid result. It was a shame for Axel; he deserved a podium for how he\u2019s ridden this weekend. We\u2019re at the limit, but it\u2019s a shame. It was a busy weekend; it\u2019s why I was gutted for Axel. We had lots of people here, he had his friends and family here, and to be performing well all weekend, it would\u2019ve been nice to see him on the podium.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTHIS TIME LAST YEAR WAS PROBABLY THE LOWEST POINT OF MY CAREER\u2026 A YEAR ON, I GOT MY BEST DRY RESULT\u201d<\/p>\n

A best dry-weather result for Tarran Mackenzie<\/a> (MGM Optical Express Racing) with P5 in Race 2, who said: \u201cTo be top five, with a bit of luck with Bassani but sometimes it\u2019s just like that, and either way, a solid top six was good. I made a step at Most in Warm Up, and then I crashed in the last race there. When I got here for the test, I was competitive. Normally I\u2019m around P9-P12, but at the test, on a race tyre or SCQ tyre, I was maybe P5, P6, P7. I don\u2019t know why I just made a step here! I left the test quite good, and I arrived here on Friday thinking I\u2019d roll out of pitlane with the same bike. It was completely different, so we had to chop and change, it was hard work during the weekend just to get back to where I was. Donington is a track I\u2019ve ridden a lot. I grew up 10 minutes away; you could hear bikes and cars from my house. This time last year was probably the lowest point of my career; I believed I was capable of achieving better results than I was. I qualified last here last year. I crashed while riding around at the back, and then ultimately thought it wasn\u2019t right and needed to stop. A year on, I got the best dry result; I think if you\u2019d told me that last year, I just would\u2019ve laughed!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI USUALLY NEVER QUIT FOR ANY REASON, BUT MAYBE IT WAS THE GOOD THING TO DO\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking after he pulled into the pits in Race 2, Miguel Oliveira<\/a> (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) said: \u201cOn Saturday, it was quite an achievement that I did all 21 laps, even at an easier pace. On Sunday, I woke up super sore and I had so much pain, I had to stop in Warm Up as I couldn\u2019t do the last two laps. In the Superpole Race, we worked it out a little bit, and I could manage to do the 10 laps; not at 100%, pushing every lap, but I could take a decent position. In Race 2, I realised pretty quickly I was more in a Warm Up situation than actually racing. I was close to the guys, but I wasn\u2019t in control, already rolling off a bit, trying to take care. That\u2019s no way to go racing. I usually never quit for any reason, but it was maybe the good thing to do. The team were mega. They were supporting me throughout every stage of the recovery, but they also put no expectations on me when I came back. I think we still gathered some good data. We did a couple of things that can take us in a direction or another with the setup.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI HAVE A GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH BONUCCI. HE\u2019S A CHAMPION, I LIKE HIS MENTALITY\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking about his relationship with eight-time Serie A winner and Euro 2020 champion Leonardo Bonucci, who was at Misano, Alberto Surra<\/a> (Motocorsa Racing) said: \u201cIt was a very hot weekend, but I\u2019m really happy for these results. I had a little problem in the smaller corners with the grip, but I\u2019m working with the team to get another good result at Misano. I have a good relationship with Leo Bonucci. I know him from Turin, my city. He has a very good mentality, he\u2019s a Champion, and I like his mentality.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWE DECIDED TO SKIP MISANO AND FOCUS ON THE NEXT ROUND; MAYBE AT DONINGTON, I\u2019LL BE 100%\u201d<\/p>\n

Providing an injury update on Friday, Danilo Petrucci<\/a> (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) said: \u201cI\u2019m doing well. It was a big crash, one of the worst of my career; especially for the pain. I landed on my back and right leg, then I tumbled a lot. I had multiple injuries, but not big ones; but two small fractures, some ligament and muscle damage especially on the left leg. I had two big bruises, so they had to cut and remove the blood. I felt really weak after the first 10 days, I couldn\u2019t move or sleep. In the last 10 days, I tried to work as hard as I could to be fit for this race. I\u2019m still not bending my knees completely, so we decided to skip Misano and focus on the next round; maybe at Donington, I\u2019ll be 100% for the round.\u201d<\/p>\n

Follow all the action from 2026, with Donington up next, using the WorldSBK VideoPass \u2013 now half price!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship visited Italy and the iconic Misano World Circuit \u201cMarco Simoncelli\u201d for Round…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":740530,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[64,63,806,805,803,804,85,83],"class_list":["post-740529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-motosport","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-motor","tag-motor-sports","tag-motosport","tag-motosports","tag-sports","tag-text"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/740529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=740529"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/740529\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/740530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=740529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=740529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=740529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}