Another strong performance for Team HRC in race 1 at Jerez
Circuito de Jerez - Angel NietoLecuona and Vierge crossed the line fifth and seventh in the first of their home Superbike races at the Jerez Circuit in Spain. Team HRC wildcard Tetsuta Nagashima also completed a solid Race 1, crossing the line fifteenth.
Early in the day, a third and final practice gave both riders the opportunity to check the setup of their CBR1000RR-R machines and make adjustments ahead of Superpole. Lecuona enjoyed a very constructive FP3, finding that little extra that allowed him to improve by a full second on his best of Friday. The Spaniard finished the session in third place thanks to an impressive time of 1’39.254. Vierge also picked up the pace during this final practice, ducking under 1’40 for the first time this weekend to close the session eleventh with a best of 1’39.924.
Iker wasted no time in the subsequent Superpole, almost immediately putting in a 1’38.591 to move into the top five. This remained the Spaniard’s best time of the session and was quick enough to secure him the fifth spot on the grid for race 1. During this 15-minute phase, team-mate Xavi made a first brief exit before pitting to switch tyres. A best time of 1’38.677 set in the later stages projected him to seventh overall, which translated into a spot on row three of the grid for Race 1. With these combined results, Team HRC completed its strongest Superpole qualifying session of the 2024 season, further confirmation of the squad’s continuous progress.
The first of the weekend’s races ran at 2pm CET and in dry, sunny conditions. From fifth on the grid, Iker slipped to eighth off the line but was quick to bounce back, moving up to fifth, and then fourth place over the course of lap one, with a podium finish well within his reach. Though passed by Alex Lowes, Iker stayed close to the Brit until, after saving what could have been a couple of crashes, he was forced to slightly reduce his pace, while still lapping within a second of his rival. Ultimately unable to catch his rival, Lecuona focused on managing the final part of his race to secure his third top five finish of the year.
In the end, Xavi actually started Race 1 from tenth position, demoted three positions on the grid after race direction deemed that he had hindered another rider during Superpole. This was not to deter Vierge, who made up two places early on and was lying eighth by lap 2. Finding a consistent rhythm similar to that of the riders ahead, the Spaniard held seventh for a good part of the race. Despite his best efforts to hunt down van der Mark for sixth in the latter stages, the Spaniard has to settle for seventh today, a result that nevertheless brought the Team HRC rider a solid points haul.
As a wildcard in the final WorldSBK round at Jerez, Team HRC tester Tetsuta Nagashima finished ahead of several permanent entries, securing one point with a solid P15 result.
Overall, I’m quite happy, honestly, starting with the qualifying session, which was my best this year. I set my lap time on my own without relying on others' references and managed to put in a really good lap on my first tyre. I think I could have gone a bit faster, but I didn’t have the same feeling with the second tyre and lost some time in the last sector due to a lack of grip. Still, P5 was good enough and we were right there. In the race, I made a very good start, only losing a couple of positions, which I quickly regained over the first lap. I felt fast and passed Alex, but then suddenly lost the front at turn five. I saw myself on the ground already, but incredibly, I managed to save it. Then, two laps later, I nearly crashed again at turn eleven, with the front sliding and very little grip. At that point, I lost contact with Alex and Locatelli. Since they weren’t battling, I couldn’t catch up, and I figured that after two strong warnings, I had to be cautious. I couldn’t carry my usual corner speed, so I just focused on braking late, stopping the bike, turning, and basically surviving to bring home this top five result, which isn’t bad at all. Of course, with the podium within reach, it leaves us hungry for more, but we need to be happy with today and focus on improving the front feeling for tomorrow, especially on the right side. It’s something we need to analyze carefully.
Overall, I’m quite happy, honestly, starting with the qualifying session, which was my best this year. I set my lap time on my own without relying on others' references and managed to put in a really good lap on my first tyre. I think I could have gone a bit faster, but I didn’t have the same feeling with the second tyre and lost some time in the last sector due to a lack of grip. Still, P5 was good enough and we were right there. In the race, I made a very good start, only losing a couple of positions, which I quickly regained over the first lap. I felt fast and passed Alex, but then suddenly lost the front at turn five. I saw myself on the ground already, but incredibly, I managed to save it. Then, two laps later, I nearly crashed again at turn eleven, with the front sliding and very little grip. At that point, I lost contact with Alex and Locatelli. Since they weren’t battling, I couldn’t catch up, and I figured that after two strong warnings, I had to be cautious. I couldn’t carry my usual corner speed, so I just focused on braking late, stopping the bike, turning, and basically surviving to bring home this top five result, which isn’t bad at all. Of course, with the podium within reach, it leaves us hungry for more, but we need to be happy with today and focus on improving the front feeling for tomorrow, especially on the right side. It’s something we need to analyze carefully.
Overall, I’m happy with today. Yesterday we couldn’t gauge our real level, but after this morning’s FP3, we realized we were stronger than yesterday’s results suggested. In qualifying, I felt great on the bike and put in a strong lap, probably one of the fastest I’ve ever made here on this bike. Iker also did a brilliant job, showing we could reach the front. It was a real shame about the three-place grid penalty, which I don’t fully understand. On that lap, I was only a tenth slower through that sector than on my previous lap, and I don’t think I could have done anything different to enter the pits. I understand Loca was very close, but I don’t believe it was my fault that he aborted his lap, which wasn’t his best one anyway. Nevertheless, we accepted the penalty and just focused on making a good start. We overtook some riders but lost contact with the group ahead, and since we were lapping at a similar pace, it wasn’t possible to close the gap. Still, finishing in the top seven, close to the group fighting for a podium, was a positive way to start the weekend here in Jerez. Let’s see if we can find a little more tomorrow; we’ll also be able to start the Superpole race based on our actual qualifying result.
Overall, I’m happy with today. Yesterday we couldn’t gauge our real level, but after this morning’s FP3, we realized we were stronger than yesterday’s results suggested. In qualifying, I felt great on the bike and put in a strong lap, probably one of the fastest I’ve ever made here on this bike. Iker also did a brilliant job, showing we could reach the front. It was a real shame about the three-place grid penalty, which I don’t fully understand. On that lap, I was only a tenth slower through that sector than on my previous lap, and I don’t think I could have done anything different to enter the pits. I understand Loca was very close, but I don’t believe it was my fault that he aborted his lap, which wasn’t his best one anyway. Nevertheless, we accepted the penalty and just focused on making a good start. We overtook some riders but lost contact with the group ahead, and since we were lapping at a similar pace, it wasn’t possible to close the gap. Still, finishing in the top seven, close to the group fighting for a podium, was a positive way to start the weekend here in Jerez. Let’s see if we can find a little more tomorrow; we’ll also be able to start the Superpole race based on our actual qualifying result.
