Team HRC prepares to tackle San Juan
Circuito San Juan VillicumTeam HRC is already in Argentina, at the San Juan Villicum circuit that will play host to round ten of the 2022 Superbike World Championship. With just three rounds to go, factory riders Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge are eager to discover what is another new track for them.
Last out at Portimão in Portugal almost two weeks ago, both riders showed real tenacity, even in the face of adversity in Lecuona’s case. Vierge scored three top ten finishes, demonstrating a certain consistency, while Lecuona had a little more trouble on Portuguese soil, working on setup and completing the first two races in eleventh and twelfth place before a crash ruled him out of the fight in the third race. Despite this, Iker refused to give up and got back on his bike to complete the race at the back of the field.
Although the Team HRC duo has never raced at San Juan before, they are both hopeful that, if they are able to quickly learn the new layout, they will be in a position to fight for the positions that count.
The San Juan Villicum facility is located in Western Argentina not far from the border with Chile. It first featured on the WorldSBK calendar in 2018, which was in fact the track’s inaugural event, having been completed earlier that year. The track measures 4.276 km and comprises seven right-hand corners and ten left-handers.
Last week we heard the sad news that Victor Steeman had passed away, and our thoughts go out to him now that we are about to start a new racing weekend. Argentina is a new track for me, so I’ve watched some past WorldSBK races just out of curiosity really. Before the real action start, I’ll run the track and talk at length with my crew chief, taking advantage of his experience there and of what we’ve learn from recent races. I’ll try and learn the layout as quickly as possible, hopefully in good weather. I’ve been to the country before but not to the same area. Everyone tells me that San Juan is beautiful. One thing that will surely be the same is the atmosphere and the fans who are super passionate, cheering on all the riders.
I’ve always looked forward to the overseas races and travelling to distant countries and tracks is something that I generally enjoy, but this time we started our trip with sadness in our hearts. We prayed that Victor would win his battle but very sadly this was not the case. Regarding Argentina, it will no doubt pose a challenge because we’re again facing a totally new track, but I have great memories of my previous visit to the country, and the Termas circuit, where I have always achieved good results, so we’ll try to continue that trend also at San Juan. We’re coming off two solid weekends at Barcelona and Portimão, where we worked in the right direction and understood many things, so now it will be important to try and take another step towards the top five.
