Honda HRC P7 with Vierge in SBK Race 1 at Estoril
Circuito EstorilThe Honda HRC team has completed the first of the weekend’s WorldSBK races at Estoril Circuit a solid seventh with Xavi Vierge. A crash on lap four unfortunately put paid to Iker Lecuona’s efforts, while test rider Tetsuta Nagashima crossed the line sixteenth.
Earlier in the day, a third and final free practice gave the factory riders a final chance to refine the setup of their CBR1000RR-R machines prior to Superpole. Both Vierge and Lecuona were able to improve on their best times of Friday, which left them confident — based on their respective circumstances — going into qualifying.
The Superpole qualifying session ran in dry conditions. After initially setting a 1’35.549, Vierge returned to the track with fresh tyres, the Spaniard hungry for more. Saving his best for last and putting in an impressive 1’35.255, the factory rider secured an important spot on the second row of the grid, in fifth position, for Race 1. Teammate Lecuona also made two exits during this brief 15-minute phase, his fastest lap coming with less than a minute to go. With a time of 1’35.920, Iker qualified fifteenth for the weekend’s first race. Test rider Nagashima completed qualifying in twentieth position.
The weekend’s first 21-lap Superbike began as scheduled but was brought to an almost immediate halt with a red flag after a Turn 1 incident involving four riders, one of which Nagashima. Although he did not crash, the Japanese rider came into contact with one of the crashed riders.
Restarted a short time later, the race was reduced to 20 laps. Though keen to exploit his starting position, Vierge slipped three positions to eighth right at the start. The Spaniard immediately set about making up that ground, but it was no easy task. Holding seventh and lying just three tenths from closest rival, Xavi worked hard to maintain consistent lap times. Despite his best efforts, he was unable to move close enough to his rivals to execute a pass, meaning that he had to settle for seventh across the line today, a result he is keen to improve upon tomorrow.
Lecuona held his starting position – fifteenth – through the opening laps but unfortunately crashed on lap four, at turn 3. Though luckily completely unhurt, Iker was unable to rejoin the race. Test rider Nagashima completed the race just outside the points zone, in sixteenth place, collecting a lot of useful data in the process. The Honda HRC team will be back in action tomorrow, taking part in the Superpole Race and Superbike Race 2.
Overall, we must be satisfied because we were able to stay with the group fighting for the podium, or at least a top five position, even if we couldn’t quite achieve that in the end. That was not the best part, of course, but we need to focus on what we have now, and with that in mind we had a really solid day, from FP3 through to qualifying, where we set a very competitive lap that allowed us to start from fifth on the grid. My start wasn’t perfect, but I was able to remain in the podium fight for the whole race. Our pace was very similar to the others, but in some parts of the track we are struggling compared to them, so I could never get close enough to try to overtake and move forward. I tried to save the tyres as much as possible to see if I had a chance at the end, but unfortunately, I started to lose front grip on the right side because we need to recover everything under braking. So today it wasn’t possible to do more, but we have an idea for tomorrow. Let’s see if we can fine-tune things a bit — not solve them completely but try to improve in those weak areas. Hopefully, we’ll have another chance to fight for a strong position.
Overall, we must be satisfied because we were able to stay with the group fighting for the podium, or at least a top five position, even if we couldn’t quite achieve that in the end. That was not the best part, of course, but we need to focus on what we have now, and with that in mind we had a really solid day, from FP3 through to qualifying, where we set a very competitive lap that allowed us to start from fifth on the grid. My start wasn’t perfect, but I was able to remain in the podium fight for the whole race. Our pace was very similar to the others, but in some parts of the track we are struggling compared to them, so I could never get close enough to try to overtake and move forward. I tried to save the tyres as much as possible to see if I had a chance at the end, but unfortunately, I started to lose front grip on the right side because we need to recover everything under braking. So today it wasn’t possible to do more, but we have an idea for tomorrow. Let’s see if we can fine-tune things a bit — not solve them completely but try to improve in those weak areas. Hopefully, we’ll have another chance to fight for a strong position.
There’s very little to say, unfortunately. A crash at Turn 3 on lap four put an early end to my race. After more than two months away, I didn’t come here with high expectations, but it’s still frustrating to finish a race like this, both for me and the team. The only thing to do now is focus on the positives: as soon as I got back on the bike yesterday, I found good speed and felt no pain in my arm and tomorrow we will have another opportunity. So let’s see if we can turn things around and bring home a better result.
There’s very little to say, unfortunately. A crash at Turn 3 on lap four put an early end to my race. After more than two months away, I didn’t come here with high expectations, but it’s still frustrating to finish a race like this, both for me and the team. The only thing to do now is focus on the positives: as soon as I got back on the bike yesterday, I found good speed and felt no pain in my arm and tomorrow we will have another opportunity. So let’s see if we can turn things around and bring home a better result.
