Team HRC preps for the 2024 WorldSBK Championship with a two-day test at Jerez
Circuito de Jerez - Angel NietoTeam HRC has kicked off preparations for the upcoming 2024 Superbike World Championship with two days of testing at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit in Spain.
Benefiting from almost ideal weather conditions on both Wednesday and Thursday, with clear skies and mild temperatures for the time of year, factory riders Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge made the most of the track time, riding from 10.30am until 6.00pm.
The squad focused on identifying a solid base-setup for the new CBR1000RR-R. This involved testing a series of upgrades made to different areas of the machine, and building on the work completed in November when the bike made its debut outing at Jerez. In addition to this setup work, the team also tested the new E40 sustainable fuel, the use of which is part of the 2024 Superbike regulation, in order to gather data and insights.
Lecuona and Vierge made an impressive number of laps over the course of two intense days, further developing their understanding of the bike’s performance and potential as a result.
Team HRC now looks ahead to its next testing session at Portugal’s Autódromo Internacional do Algarve on 29-30 January, when the preparations for the upcoming racing season will continue.
Over the winter I had a small surgery on my left hand, as I’d been having some issues last season, an after-effect of having broken my hand back in 2021. Although I’ve had to scale back my gym work a little, I’m almost 100% and am now training properly again; I feel strong physically but also mentally and was looking forward to getting on the bike yesterday. I see 2024 as being an important year for me, and so I want to do my best to be ready for it. I feel we've taken a step with the aero package, and the bike overall seems to work in a different way, thanks to updated electronics and the like, which helps us to improve in certain areas. Having said that, the bike is new, and we're still struggling with certain aspects. I wanted to find better front feeling this week, and we worked hard to achieve that but are not there yet. The next two days of testing at Portimão will be important,giving us the chance to understand how the bike feels at a completely different track and to establish the best possible base before we head to Phillip Island.
Over the winter I had a small surgery on my left hand, as I’d been having some issues last season, an after-effect of having broken my hand back in 2021. Although I’ve had to scale back my gym work a little, I’m almost 100% and am now training properly again; I feel strong physically but also mentally and was looking forward to getting on the bike yesterday. I see 2024 as being an important year for me, and so I want to do my best to be ready for it. I feel we've taken a step with the aero package, and the bike overall seems to work in a different way, thanks to updated electronics and the like, which helps us to improve in certain areas. Having said that, the bike is new, and we're still struggling with certain aspects. I wanted to find better front feeling this week, and we worked hard to achieve that but are not there yet. The next two days of testing at Portimão will be important,giving us the chance to understand how the bike feels at a completely different track and to establish the best possible base before we head to Phillip Island.
I'm happy to be back working with my squad and all the members of my team. We’ve had two days of ideal weather conditions here in Jerez, which has allowed us to complete a lot of laps and get through a significant amount of work. It's true that we've had a little more difficulty than expected, especially during the traction phase, so one of our main goals here was to improve traction and grip. The overall feeling on the bike is quite good, but as soon as we close the throttle,we cannot exploit the power and have too much spin. We’ve made a number of adjustments to the bike setup and electronics, and now it will be crucial for the engineers to analyze all the data and come up with a solid plan for Portimão, so that we can quickly make progress.
I'm happy to be back working with my squad and all the members of my team. We’ve had two days of ideal weather conditions here in Jerez, which has allowed us to complete a lot of laps and get through a significant amount of work. It's true that we've had a little more difficulty than expected, especially during the traction phase, so one of our main goals here was to improve traction and grip. The overall feeling on the bike is quite good, but as soon as we close the throttle,we cannot exploit the power and have too much spin. We’ve made a number of adjustments to the bike setup and electronics, and now it will be crucial for the engineers to analyze all the data and come up with a solid plan for Portimão, so that we can quickly make progress.
