Solid race 2 for both Team HRC riders at Most
Autodrom MostTeam HRC concluded the Czech SBK round at Most with solid Race 2 results. Lecuona crossed the line eighth before receiving a three-second penalty and being relegated to tenth. Vierge finished eleventh at the end of a hot and hard-fought 22-lap race.
Team HRC concluded the Czech SBK round at Most with solid Race 2 results. Lecuona crossed the line eighth before receiving a three-second penalty and being relegated to tenth. Vierge finished eleventh at the end of a hot and hard-fought 22-lap race.
After a brief early morning warm-up, during which the team made some final changes to the bikes’ setup, the ten-lap Superpole race got underway at 11am CET. From fourteenth on the grid, Vierge made a lightning start, positioning himself well through turn one to place eighth. Settling comfortably into ninth place, a small error on lap five saw him run long through turn 1 and slip to thirteenth. With little time to recover what he had lost, Xavi gained two positions in the final stages to cross the line eleventh. A pity as the factory rider clearly had the pace to place top ten. Lecuona had a trickier race start, dropping to fifteenth on lap one. The Spaniard lost further ground but worked hard to recover over the central part of this short race, securing a fourteenth-place finish in this brief sprint.
Fourteenth and fifteenth on the grid for the second and final 22-lap Superbike, Lecuona and Vierge got away well when the lights went out, moving straight into ninth and eleventh following an incident for other riders through turn 1. Lapping consistently, the HRC riders were up into eighth and ninth by lap four. Iker soon moved into seventh after getting past Redding, with team-mate Xavi following close behind. While Lecuona battled Rea, Vierge conceded two positions to Iannone and Lowes in the final stages. Maintaining focus all the way to the line, the Team HRC duo secured their strongest combined result of the season so far, with Lecuona closing eighth and Vierge eleventh.
After the race, Lecuona received a three-second penalty for cutting Turn 1, an issue many riders faced over the weekend. This penalty meant he dropped to tenth place but took nothing away from the strong pace and performance the Spaniard displayed today.
Halfway through the 2024 championship and Xavi Vierge now places 17th with 33 points, while Iker Lecuona lies 18th with 30 points. Team HRC will be on track in almost three weeks’ time (9-11 August), ready for round seven of the Superbike World Championship at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal.
Not too bad today. I felt much better on the bike, and I think the team did a good job understanding what I needed. I went into Race 2 with the hard front tyre spec, and I felt good. Perhaps not hard enough because midway through the race I started losing the front. But as I said, the race was a good one. I got up to seventh with the chance to fight for P6, as Rinaldi was not far off. Then Rea overtook me, and I dropped to eighth, which was still not so bad. I had a little problem with the shifting that made me run a little wide through Turn 1, and I think I definitely lost at least a second. So, I’m not too happy with race direction for the penalty but there’s nothing we can do about it. The good thing is that we improved over the weekend and finally fought for a decent result. Now, we can rest up a bit before the next one.
Not too bad today. I felt much better on the bike, and I think the team did a good job understanding what I needed. I went into Race 2 with the hard front tyre spec, and I felt good. Perhaps not hard enough because midway through the race I started losing the front. But as I said, the race was a good one. I got up to seventh with the chance to fight for P6, as Rinaldi was not far off. Then Rea overtook me, and I dropped to eighth, which was still not so bad. I had a little problem with the shifting that made me run a little wide through Turn 1, and I think I definitely lost at least a second. So, I’m not too happy with race direction for the penalty but there’s nothing we can do about it. The good thing is that we improved over the weekend and finally fought for a decent result. Now, we can rest up a bit before the next one.
Another busy race weekend is done, and we have several positives to take home. Today, we felt we could fight for a top ten finish, and we achieved it both in the sprint and in the longer race. Between yesterday and today, we made some changes to the bike setup, which I liked. I made a strong start in the Superpole race, moving up to ninth place, and was trying to make further progress when I made a mistake at Turn 1, went wide, and lost the chance to secure a top nine finish. But the pace was there, and we started Race 2 with confidence. Another good start brought us back into the top 10, but unfortunately, with five or six laps to go, I felt a strong pain in my arms, some arm-pump, and couldn't fight anymore. Again, we must take the positives, and we are already thinking and working to prepare for the next round at Portimão. Thank you to the team - after this race, I think we are one step closer to where we want to be.
Another busy race weekend is done, and we have several positives to take home. Today, we felt we could fight for a top ten finish, and we achieved it both in the sprint and in the longer race. Between yesterday and today, we made some changes to the bike setup, which I liked. I made a strong start in the Superpole race, moving up to ninth place, and was trying to make further progress when I made a mistake at Turn 1, went wide, and lost the chance to secure a top nine finish. But the pace was there, and we started Race 2 with confidence. Another good start brought us back into the top 10, but unfortunately, with five or six laps to go, I felt a strong pain in my arms, some arm-pump, and couldn't fight anymore. Again, we must take the positives, and we are already thinking and working to prepare for the next round at Portimão. Thank you to the team - after this race, I think we are one step closer to where we want to be.
