Ducati has been frustrated by bad weather in the two European preseason tests for WorldSBK this month as it tries to prepare for a 2026 season that will be the first for its updated Panigale V4 R.

The 2026 bike is one that features several changes, including to the engine, chassis, and aerodynamic specifications.

It would be ideal, then, for testing to be run in dry and mild conditions, so development items could be evaluated and a base setting could be established.

However, the two European tests held by WorldSBK teams this month – the first taking place in Jerez on 21–22 January and the second at Portimao on 28–29 January – were both affected by rain.

In Jerez, many riders only rode on the afternoon of the second day, when conditions were largely dry but still patchy in several corners; while in Portimao both days were full washouts, meaning riders were able to lap but only with rain tyres and in extreme wet conditions – hardly representative of the kinds of conditions that will be found in most races during the season.

For 2025 runner-up and 2026 title favourite Nicolo Bulega, the weather was a source of frustration, and he will go to Australia in February for the final preseason test of the winter and the first round of the season with much of the development work planned for the new bike incomplete.

“Unfortunately, this winter we were very unlucky with the weather,” said Bulega, speaking to WorldSBK.com after the second day of testing in Portimao.

“Today was the last day and it was raining again, so we decided to do some laps even in wet conditions. 

“Honestly, though, the conditions were quite extreme: cold, very windy and very wet. 

“I did a few laps just to check that everything was okay before heading to Australia.”

Bulega added that, even though the conditions were relatively unrepresentative, it was important to ride at least a few laps just to gain a little more of an understanding for the new Panigale V4 R.

“The bike is new, so it was still important to ride a little, even in the wet, but these conditions are not very useful,” he said.

“When you have a new bike, you really need to do a lot of laps to understand it, and also for the guys in the box to check that everything is working properly. 

“Unfortunately, we couldn’t really try anything this winter, so we’ll go to Australia like this and see how it goes. 

“The official test at Phillip Island will be very important. The goal will be to stay on track as much as possible and complete a lot of laps.”

Lecuona: Why crashing can be positive

If the testing weather in Europe has been a frustration for Bulega, it has been even more so for his new teammate Iker Lecuona, who has had very little time to try to settle into his new team and to understand his new bike.

On the positive side, though, any laps are useful at this early stage for Lecuona, even if the conditions are awful, and the Spaniard did finish second on the day two combined times behind only his teammate, Bulega.

“It was fine,” Lecuona told WorldSBK.com after day two in Portimao.

“I’m quite happy with the job. At the end, it was a very tricky condition overall; we can ride only today, [and] just a few laps. 

“But we needed to ride, I arrived to the team, also my crew chief was new, so everything was new for both of us. We are happy – both, on both sides – because we learn about working between us, working with the bike, learning about the bike, with the electronics, everything.

“So, the target is doing some laps, take the feeling to be ready for Australia, and I think the job was done.”

He added: “At the end, we don’t work exactly in one area, we worked on everything because everything was new. So, we worked a lot on the electronics, on the base, but this track has very low grip compared to Jerez last week, so we need to adjust a lot the base. 

“But we found also the base for for low grip, so in that case we are happy. Also we are happy because the target was to do some laps, to just ride, to be more comfortable on the bike.

“Honestly, I feel so happy because we did it, that target, so I think we are a bit more ready for Australia.”

There was a crash for Lecuona at turn eight, before Portimao’s famous crest, but even this could be seen with positivity by Lecuona.

“I crashed in braking at turn eight, just a very slow crash, almost the bike didn’t have any damage and also myself,” he said.

“[It was] a very tricky condition. 

“I’m happy also to have that small crash because we need to know the real limit and until that moment I didn’t know the limit with the front. So, it’s just a part of the game, so we are almost more ready, with that crash, for Australia.”