Vierge and Team HRC top ten in SBK race 1 at Phillip Island
Phillip IslandTeam HRC rider Xavi Vierge was on track at Phillip Island for the first of the 2024 season’s WorldSBK races today, the Spaniard crossing the line a determined tenth in what developed into a thrilling 20-lapper that also involved an obligatory mid-race tyre change.
Team HRC rider Xavi Vierge was on track at Phillip Island for the first of the 2024 season’s WorldSBK races today, the Spaniard crossing the line a determined tenth in what developed into a thrilling 20-lapper that also involved an obligatory mid-race tyre change.
Unfortunately, Iker Lecuona has been deemed unfit to continue with the weekend’s action after injuring his left shoulder during Tuesday’s official test. Although he attempted to ride during Friday’s practice sessions, the rider ultimately decided, in agreement with his team and the circuit doctors, that it would be unsafe for him to compete in the races.
Following on from a brief third and final practice, in which Vierge improved on his best time of Friday, the Superpole qualifying session ran as scheduled at 1pm local time (CET+10). With just fifteen minutes at his disposal, Xavi wasted no time, immediately putting in a rapid 1’29.688. The Spaniard was able to further lower his time during what proved to be an incredibly fast and hard-fought qualifying session, with the previous lap record smashed by well over a second. Vierge recorded a best of 1’29.000, which put him thirteenth on the timesheets at the session’s end, for a spot on the fifth row of the grid for the afternoon’s race.
The first race of the 2024 season brought plenty of drama, not least because the entire SBK field was obliged to make a pitstop mid-race following concerns regarding tyre wear on the newly resurfaced track. As the lights went out, Vierge got away well from thirteenth on the grid, placing fourteenth through the first turns. The Spaniard was able to pick up the pace lap by lap, moving into twelfth on lap seven. Xavi came in to make his tyre change on lap eleven and returned to the track in twelfth place. Soon making up two positions in this second phase of the race, Vierge set his fastest lap of the race on lap fourteen to move into the top ten, ultimately securing a solid points haul in this inaugural race of the 2024 championship.
Team HRC will round out this first race weekend of the year with tomorrow’s Superpole race and second 20-lap Superbike race, taking place respectively at 1pm and 4pm local time (CET+10).
The first race of the year is done and dusted. Overall, it's been a decent day, despite the fact that a solid 1’29.00 in today's ultra-competitive Superpole only put us on row five of the grid. The Phillip Island round is always a “special” race for various reasons, especially when it comes to tyre wear, hence the need for a flag-to-flag race. I must say a big thankyou to the team though, as they did an awesome job changing the tyres flawlessly and at just the right moment as we had planned. Unfortunately, I wasn’t convinced by the rear grip in the first part of the race, and I couldn't quite push as hard as I wanted. But after the tyre change, my pace really picked up. We'll check the data carefully now to see if we can bring that same competitiveness to both stints tomorrow and really be in the mix for a better result. For now, let's take this top ten finish and hopefully use it as a boost for tomorrow.
