Focus back on WorldSBK for Vierge and Lecuona
Donington Park CircuitTeam HRC and riders Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge are all set for round six of the 2023 Superbike World Championship, which is about to get underway at Donington Park in the UK, after being kept busy with different activities following the Misano round.
Vierge flew to Japan to complete a Suzuka 8 Hours test, while Lecuona took part in last weekend’s Assen MotoGP round, standing in for the injured Joan Mir.
Last year’s edition brought challenges for the two riders, with Lecuona struggling with some arm pump and Vierge returning to action after a crash at the previous round. This time around, both are fully fit and are therefore confident that they will be able to do more with respect to their last outing at Donington.
The latest Misano round, which concluded a little over three weeks ago, brought some solid results for the Team HRC factory pair, with Vierge finishing top five in race 2 and Lecuona eighth in race 1. Iker had hoped for more come Sunday’s races but an accident in the Superpole race prevented him from starting race 2.
The Donington Park circuit in Leicestershire staged the very first WorldSBK race back in 1988 and has been a regular fixture on the production-derived calendar ever since. It has provided the backdrop for many exciting battles over the years. The oldest British track still in operation today, it was acquired by MSV in 2017 and continues to go from strength to strength. Currently measuring 4.023 km in length, it incorporates seven right-hand turns and five left-handers. In 2023 it has been completely resurfaced for the first time in more than 20 years.
We return to racing after a small break between races, but this didn’t keep me away from riding as after Misano I attended a test in Suzuka that went well and then I trained at home as usual in order to remain fully fit. I’m looking forward to the coming weekend because last year I raced at Donington for the first time but although I loved the track on sight, I wasn’t able to enjoy it because I was returning from injury and so that meant I struggled. I’ve heard that the asphalt is new so I’m looking forward to working with my team again and keeping up with the good work we’ve been doing.
I remember from last year that I really like the Donington track even though it’s a challenging one, especially for us. So we will see how it goes this year, also considering that the track has recently been resurfaced. It’s been quite a busy time since the Misano round, as first I focused on my rehab and then, having recovered fast, I competed in my second MotoGP race of the season. I want to thank Honda and everyone on the team once again because it was an amazing weekend that gives me added motivation to keep pushing to improve and achieve our targets.