Hard work brings little reward for Team HRC at Villicum
Circuito San Juan VillicumA challenging penultimate Superbike World Championship round has concluded for Team HRC at the San Juan Villicum circuit in Argentina. Riders Alvaro Bautista and Leon Haslam rounded out the day’s two races with a tenth- and an eleventh- place finish apiece.
The 10-lap Tissot Superpole race got underway at 12pm local time in sunny but rather windy conditions. Lining up in tenth position, Haslam held his starting position from start to finish, riding consistently to finish the short sprint in the top ten. Team-mate Bautista meanwhile made up one position through the opening lap to place fourteenth and was up into eleventh by lap four. Three seconds behind Haslam in tenth, the Spaniard did his best to close this gap but was not quite able to do so, considering the limited number of laps available to him. Bautista therefore crossed the line eleventh, immediately behind his team-mate.
The Team HRC riders were back on track for the final race of the weekend at 3pm local time. Ninth on the grid, Haslam made a very strong start and was up into seventh through the first turns. He lost a few positions in the early stages of the race, while Bautista retained his starting position, fourteenth, through lap one, but then gradually started to make progress. By the mid-race point, Alvaro had caught his team-mate, the Team HCR pair lying tenth and eleventh. Holding these positions for several laps, Bautista then passed Haslam in the final stages to cross the line tenth, followed by Leon, eleventh.
In the championship standings, Bautista positions tenth with 180 points, Haslam twelfth on 134. The final Superbike World Championship round will be held at the new Mandalika circuit in Indonesia on 19-21 November.
SPRC P11 RC2 P10
"Today we tried to improve our feeling with respect to yesterday because I’ve been struggling all weekend here to be honest. By making some adjustments to the electronics, we took a small step forward and my pace improved a little bit in the Superpole race as a result. Then in Race 2 we made another small step in terms of feeling, and I was able to maintain a more consistent pace, almost one second faster than I had been up until that point. Let's say that we have progressed during the weekend but unfortunately not enough to run closer to the front. We’ve struggled at this track, yes, but I think that the work completed and the information gathered will be useful to the technicians in the future. I thank HRC as always because they continue to work really hard. Now we have time to rest up after so many weeks and races in a row. It’s almost a month until the last round in Indonesia, at a track that is new for everyone, so we will see; it’s always interesting to discover a new track."
SPRC P11 RC2 P10
"Today we tried to improve our feeling with respect to yesterday because I’ve been struggling all weekend here to be honest. By making some adjustments to the electronics, we took a small step forward and my pace improved a little bit in the Superpole race as a result. Then in Race 2 we made another small step in terms of feeling, and I was able to maintain a more consistent pace, almost one second faster than I had been up until that point. Let's say that we have progressed during the weekend but unfortunately not enough to run closer to the front. We’ve struggled at this track, yes, but I think that the work completed and the information gathered will be useful to the technicians in the future. I thank HRC as always because they continue to work really hard. Now we have time to rest up after so many weeks and races in a row. It’s almost a month until the last round in Indonesia, at a track that is new for everyone, so we will see; it’s always interesting to discover a new track."
SPRC P10 RC2 P11
“To be honest, the result was essentially what we expected. I struggled over the last six laps or so in race 2, as we had a similar brake problem as in the previous race, but generally the bike was quite stable and Alvaro and me were together for a good part of the race. I finished all three races in tenth or eleventh place, which is more or less where we thought we’d be here; we did what we could. On Wednesday I will be in Barcelona for a minor surgery on my bicep tendon (right arm), something we’ve been managing during recent rounds, and then, if the recovery is as quick as it should be, I’ll be fit for Indonesia where I hope to finish the season strong.”
SPRC P10 RC2 P11
“To be honest, the result was essentially what we expected. I struggled over the last six laps or so in race 2, as we had a similar brake problem as in the previous race, but generally the bike was quite stable and Alvaro and me were together for a good part of the race. I finished all three races in tenth or eleventh place, which is more or less where we thought we’d be here; we did what we could. On Wednesday I will be in Barcelona for a minor surgery on my bicep tendon (right arm), something we’ve been managing during recent rounds, and then, if the recovery is as quick as it should be, I’ll be fit for Indonesia where I hope to finish the season strong.”
