Having not stood on a WorldSBK podium since Assen 2022, Iker Lecuona finally returned꧒ to the rostrum in Race 1 at this weeken⛎d’s Estoril World Superbike round.

It was a chaotic start to the race for Lecuona, he explained. He nearly crashed, and then ♍lost positions to avoid it.

“The start was good, and I could overtake some riders in the first corner, but at Turn 4 I went just behind Xavi [Vierge] and tried to overtake [Michael Ruben] Rinaldi,” the Honda rider told WorldSꦇBK.com.

“Rinaldi crossed the line and my front tyre hit him on the back. I almost crashed, so I closed the throttle to not crash and🎃 about six riders overtook me.”

As the race progressed, so did Lecuona, picking up positions to eventually land on the podiu⭕m.

“I started to overtake, and I couldn’t think so much, just to overtake at Turn 3, Tu🅘rn 6. I overtook many riders, Turn 7 braking — I felt really strong,” Lecuona said.

“I had a lot of performance today. I didn’t expect a podium because we didn’t have enough time. It was a question mark over 𓃲tyre life.

“I s🅠aid I’d try to save the tyre in some places and keep the pace. I caught Alex [Lowes], overtook him and I was P4.

“I wa♔nted to catch [Nicolo] Bulega and [Andrea] Locatelli, but 𝓀Locatelli made a mistake.

“I couldn’t relax because Alex was 0.5 seconds behind me. I went a bit♛ faster than Bulega, and I said to keep the pace.

“In the last two laps, I thou🦂ght the podium was possible after two years. I was very happy during the whole lap, but coming into pit lane, I started to cry.

“It’s been a hard year for me with many injuries. Sometimes, I felt like I wasn’t good enough to be here. It was a really good 𝔍thing for me.”

Lecuona said that he had made improvements me🌠ntally over the summer which have contributed to improved🌃 performances in recent races.

“I think in the summer, I need to say I started to work with a psychologist because I needed to be more focused and relaxe𝓀d in some areas," he said.

“I work physic💛ally more than ever; eat the food I need to eat. I listen to my manager and my team🍎, to my girlfriend and my friends.

“I changed a lot and they’re [Honda] working really hard in Japan. From the summer, the bike improved a lot. We we🔯re getting closer and closer and n🍸ow we’ve done it.”