Iker Lecuona risks being penalized due to an incident during the first qualifying of the MotoGP Qatar Grand Prix. The rider unnecessarily rode slowly on the racing line.

As a result, the LCR Honda rider hampered Enea Bastianini’s fast lap. The Italian, who could have set a new record with that lap, did not hide his deep displeasure, gesturing with his arms to express his «fury» toward the rival.

The incident is currently under investigation by race officials, and Lecuona might face penalties. You can see the situation in the following video:

O conteúdo Video: Iker Lecuona slow on the racing line «enrages» Enea Bastianini aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Tyre pressure caused issues for several riders in the MotoGP Malaysian GP race, resulting in a series of warnings for the respective infractions, including the race winner.

The rules introduced in the British GP in August specify a minimum pressure to the front tyre. The first infraction results in a warning, and thereafter, time penalties are awarded incrementally – three seconds for the second infraction, six seconds for the third infraction, and 12 seconds for the fourth.

In Sepang, the stewards warned five riders for violating the minimum pressure limit. The winner, Enea Bastianini (Ducati), was one of them, as well as his teammate and championship leader Francesco Bagnaia, who finished third.

The other warnings were issued to Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team/Ducati), Iker Lecuona (LCR Honda), and wildcard Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati).

The rule was introduced midway through the season, and in just 12 rounds, 13 riders have been warned for an infraction, with Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia) already being penalized. Thus, if nothing is changed, there may be several penalties and consequences for the quality of the races – especially because the idea is for disqualification to be the sanction in the future.

O conteúdo Enea Bastianini, Francesco Bagnaia among several riders warned about tyre pressure in the Malaysian GP aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Iker Lecuona has been chosen by LCR Honda to replace the injured Álex Rins in the upcoming Malaysian and Qatar GPs – the next two rounds of the MotoGP World Championship.

Rins had to withdraw from the Australian and Thai GPs due to intense pain and underwent another surgery due to complications related to injuries he sustained on one of his legs in June of the previous year. The surgery was successful, but the rider is currently in the recovery phase.

With the Superbike World Championship season concluded, Lecuona was selected by LCR Honda as a substitute. The Spanish rider has already participated in five rounds in this capacity, with 16th place finishes in Jerez and Catalonia being his best results

O conteúdo Iker Lecuona back in MotoGP to replace Álex Rins in the next two GPs aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Álex Rins has undergone surgery again on his right leg, but there is still no date for his return to the track. The rider withdrew from the MotoGP Australian Grand Prix before Saturday, also missing the race in Thailand.

In a press release, LCR Honda has announced that their rider was successfully operated on last Thursday at the Ruber International Hospital in Madrid. Doctors removed the hernia and corrected the compartment syndrome in his right leg.

Following the surgery, Rins has already returned home, where his recovery will take place. The next few days will be crucial in deciding the next steps in the process, and there is no defined date for his return to competition.

O conteúdo Álex Rins has undergone a successful surgery; the next few days will be important aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Álex Rins will not compete at the Thai MotoGP. The rider had already withdrawn prematurely from the Australian GP last weekend and is not fit for Buriram. However, he will not be replaced by LCR Honda.

According to the team, the Spanish rider immediately traveled to Madrid, where medical examinations on his right leg revealed a small hernia around the fibula that is still healing. This may have been the cause of the pain he was experiencing. On Thursday, Rins will undergo a minor surgery to improve the healing process.

So far, Iker Lecuona and Stefan Bradl have replaced the injured riders at LCR Honda and Repsol Honda in 2023. However, both are unavailable for Thailand, and due to the lack of time, LCR Honda has decided not to replace Rins in Buriram.

O conteúdo Álex Rins will miss the Thai GP and will not be replaced aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Álex Rins competed in the MotoGP Indonesian GP and was in action in Australia on Friday, but the pain caused by loose screws in his injured leg led to his premature withdrawal. The Thai GP is already next weekend, and the rider is uncertain.

This also poses some troubles for LCR Honda. The team will have to find a substitute for Rins in the coming days when two of those who occasionally filled in for him are unavailable: Iker Lecuona has the World Superbike round in Jerez, and Stefan Bradl told the site SPEEDWEEK.com that he’s testing at the same circuit and can’t go to Buriram.

So, if Rins is absent, there may be an even less regular rider in the Thai round. Last season, Tetsuta Nagashima acted as a substitute for the injured Takaaki Nakagami in Buriram, in addition to being a wildcard in Japan.

O conteúdo Álex Rins may miss the Thai GP… and finding a replacement won’t be easy aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Johann Zarco was confirmed as a rider for LCR Honda in MotoGP in 2024 some time ago. With Marc Márquez’s departure from Repsol Honda, the factory team of the manufacturer, the current Prima Pramac rider was promptly speculated as an option for that position. However, he is not receptive to the idea.

Speaking to Sky Sport, the Frenchman admitted that he didn’t particularly like the proposal from Honda, preferring to play it safe and focus on LCR Honda:

– When my manager came to me and talked about two races, in Indonesia and Australia, either with Lucio [Cecchinello, LCR team director] or with Honda, we saw that Honda and also Alberto [Puig, Repsol Honda team director] offered me things I didn’t like. So, I prefer to fully commit to Lucio to change things and work in that direction. Having that factory team, but when we’re not 100 percent sure about things, the project scared me.

O conteúdo Honda’s factory team project ‘scared’ Johann Zarco aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Álex Rins finally returned to competition at the MotoGP Indonesian GP and achieved a strong result after more than four months of absence. He finished in ninth place, matching his second-best result of the year.

Speaking to the official website of the championship, the Spaniard from LCR Honda admitted he was physically drained: ‘I’m done, honestly. I’m super tired after this long and though race with really hot conditions. The track was a bit slippery, but after 13, 14 laps, I started to struggle a lot with the leg – because the anesthesia goes out and I started to change a little bit my riding style to don’t suffer that much’.

After the efforts in his rehabilitation over the last few months, Rins gives an even bigger importance to this result: ‘During the race I thought in all the hours we did at home – physiotherapist, gym, hours and hours watching MotoGP. And I think this race was the strenght that we put to finish the race. This, for us, is like a podium’.

O conteúdo Álex Rins’ emotional ninth place in Indonesia: ‘Is like a podium’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

This last weekend Japanese GP had a peculiar sunday MotoGP long race, to say the least. The conditions were complicated in Motegi and just a little after the start the race was considered Flag-to-Flag, with the white flag to be shown, allowing the riders to change their bikes.

And not every rider has a similar style has LCR Honda shared on social media as Takaaki Nakagami and Stefan Bradl can show you in the video below.

Both riders had a slightly different approach:

O conteúdo Video: Takaaki Nakagami «vs» Stefan Bradl: How do LCR Honda riders swapped bikes in Japan GP? Discover the differences aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

It won’t be at the Japanese GP that Álex Rins makes his return to MotoGP competition. The rider decided not to continue on the track in Motegi after Friday’s practice sessions.

According to LCR Honda, the pain rendered the rider unfit: ‘Álex Rins has been declared unfit due to the pain he’s felt today on the right leg while testing on track. We are proud of his efforts, thanks for trying Álex!’.

There are two weeks left until the Indonesian GP, which is now Rins’ next goal to return to competition – at a time when four months will have passed since the fractures he suffered in June at the Italian GP.

O conteúdo Álex Rins is out of the MotoGP Japanese GP aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.