SBK: Lecuona and Vierge ready to fly high with the Honda

Factory Team HRC has now unveiled the Honda CBR1000RR-R with which its young Spanish riders Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge will compete, for a second consecutive year, in WorldSBK. While 2022 was a sort of apprenticeship year for the two former world championship riders, this year will be the ‘acid test’, as they are tasked with achieving more consistent results aboard the Tokyo sportbike.

Lecuona: “I learned a lot in 2022”

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“We learned a lot last year and achieved some strong results, like pole position in Barcelona and a podium at Assen, which we weren’t really expecting as that was only the second race”, comments Iker during the online presentation. “Definitely a very positive year overall, and it helped me get to grips with a lot of things, like how to manage the situation in every race and at every track, also with the Pirelli tyres that were very difficult to understand at first.”

“I plan to harness all that I learned in 2022 in the year to come. Over the winter, the team and everyone back in the Honda factory have worked really hard to provide us with a better bike. We still have two days of testing in Australia before the first race, so we have time to understand the new material and find the best setup in order to exploit it as best we can. We start with the two rounds that I wasn’t able to compete in last season, but I like both tracks, feel good, and am ready to give it my all”, concludes the Spaniard, impatient to get back to work.

Vierge: “We have great potential”

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“This is my second year in WorldSBK and so we’ll benefit from not having to start from scratch”, states Xavi. “We now know many of the tracks and understand how the tyres and electronics work, while it was all a big challenge for me last year. 2022 wasn’t an easy season but we scored some good results and demonstrated our potential”.

“Honda has been hard at work and so we’ve had a lot to do and many elements to test over the winter. I am really pleased with how that all’s gone and now we just need to identify our base setup for the season”, continues the former Moto 2 rider. “Testing is great but it doesn’t compare to racing. Luckily, this year we start early and there’s no better places than Australia and Indonesia. I’m looking forward to getting there and beginning what should be an amazing season.”