A solid Lecuona and a brave Vierge finish ninth and eleventh in SBK Race 1 at Misano
Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”Honda HRC riders Xavi Vierge and Iker Lecuona take the positives from the first race of the Emilia-Romagna Round, though both are aiming for more tomorrow
Final practice ran early in the morning in slightly cooler conditions than Friday. With just 20 minutes to prepare for Superpole, Iker immediately improved on his Friday time, setting a 1’33.433 during his first run, which remained his best time, and the eleventh fastest of the session. Xavi continued to regain confidence and set his best time of the weekend in the final stages with a 1’33.662—just two tenths off Iker—but in such a tight classification, that gap placed him seventeenth in the combined standings.
At 11am CET the riders headed back out for Superpole. Lecuona upped his pace throughout this short 15-minute qualifying phase, lowering his time with each lap he made. His best time, a 1’33.017 set in the latter stages, translated into twelfth position on the grid for the afternoon’s race. Teammate Vierge set a fastest time of 1’33.438 in the final stages to qualify seventeenth.
The first of the weekend’s races ran as scheduled in predictably hot conditions (air temp. 30°C, track temp. 47°C). From row four, Lecuona made a determined start and was lying tenth through the initial laps, followed by teammate Vierge, twelfth. The duo fought hard to maintain a consistently strong pace and moved into ninth and tenth place respectively after gaining ground during the central phase. Lecuona was able to hold ninth to the line, while teammate Vierge lost just one position to close a tenacious eleventh considering he is not yet 100% fit.
This morning’s FP3 was difficult because we weren’t as competitive as we expected, honestly. I felt a bit frustrated, especially considering how promising the test had been here. In Superpole, I wouldn’t say I did a 100% perfect lap—because you can always do a little more—but it was really close to the best we could squeeze out of the bike. I was faster than I was last year, and faster than I was at the test, but still, everyone else made a bigger step forward. The gap to the top was too much. Maybe not too far from the third fastest, but definitely not where we need to be yet. As for the race, our pace was good, on the level of the group fighting for the top five, but our starting position didn’t help. Anyway, I did my best. In the first three laps I fought hard with Iannone before he crashed. Then I caught Remy (Gardner)—he was really on the limit, I think—and then he crashed too. I kept pushing and managed to close in by about a second on the group ahead, which was fighting for the top five. Our pace was similar, but I couldn’t sufficiently close the gap. In the last two laps, I decided to hold back a bit to avoid mistakes. The front was starting to close on me a lot, especially from lap 10 onwards, and I didn’t want to risk a stupid crash. So, it’s not exactly what we hoped for, but we take the positives and feel confident for tomorrow.
This morning’s FP3 was difficult because we weren’t as competitive as we expected, honestly. I felt a bit frustrated, especially considering how promising the test had been here. In Superpole, I wouldn’t say I did a 100% perfect lap—because you can always do a little more—but it was really close to the best we could squeeze out of the bike. I was faster than I was last year, and faster than I was at the test, but still, everyone else made a bigger step forward. The gap to the top was too much. Maybe not too far from the third fastest, but definitely not where we need to be yet. As for the race, our pace was good, on the level of the group fighting for the top five, but our starting position didn’t help. Anyway, I did my best. In the first three laps I fought hard with Iannone before he crashed. Then I caught Remy (Gardner)—he was really on the limit, I think—and then he crashed too. I kept pushing and managed to close in by about a second on the group ahead, which was fighting for the top five. Our pace was similar, but I couldn’t sufficiently close the gap. In the last two laps, I decided to hold back a bit to avoid mistakes. The front was starting to close on me a lot, especially from lap 10 onwards, and I didn’t want to risk a stupid crash. So, it’s not exactly what we hoped for, but we take the positives and feel confident for tomorrow.
Of course, I’m not fully happy, but we have to be satisfied because just a couple of weeks ago I was almost sure I’d miss this race. So being here and finishing just outside the top ten is very positive. That said, there’s still work to do. Sometimes the feeling at the rear changes a lot without us actually making any modifications to the bike’s setup, and that’s something we really need to understand. It wasn’t a matter of the injured foot, so it’s an issue we have to get on top of. The race itself wasn’t bad. In the beginning, I felt quite good. Then, around mid-race, I started to struggle—physically, of course, and also with the feeling on the bike. But nothing dramatic. The important thing is that the team is working super hard, and we’ve already planned some things to test in warmup. Hopefully, that will help us close the gap to the guys in front.
Of course, I’m not fully happy, but we have to be satisfied because just a couple of weeks ago I was almost sure I’d miss this race. So being here and finishing just outside the top ten is very positive. That said, there’s still work to do. Sometimes the feeling at the rear changes a lot without us actually making any modifications to the bike’s setup, and that’s something we really need to understand. It wasn’t a matter of the injured foot, so it’s an issue we have to get on top of. The race itself wasn’t bad. In the beginning, I felt quite good. Then, around mid-race, I started to struggle—physically, of course, and also with the feeling on the bike. But nothing dramatic. The important thing is that the team is working super hard, and we’ve already planned some things to test in warmup. Hopefully, that will help us close the gap to the guys in front.
