Team HRC has been at the Misano World Circuit this week for another test session. Factory rider Iker Lecuona was out on track on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the hot and dry conditions in Italy allowing for uninterrupted work.
Having recently undergone surgery on his right hand, Xavi Vierge could not participate in the riding this week but was nevertheless in the garage with the team. He keeps track of developments, watches some of the action trackside and takes the time to analyse all the data with his technicians.
Team
Iker was joined on track for this test by factory HRC test rider Tetsuta Nagashima. The Japanese rider worked intensively alongside Lecuona over the two days of testing, which he will do again over the weekend of 5-7 August as part of the #33 Team HRC.
Along with BSB Honda rider Takumi Takahashi, Lecuona and Nagashima will compete in the iconic Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race with a factory bike based on the CBR1000RR-R FIREBLADE SP.
The two riders and their technical teams spent the sessions focusing mainly on the bike’s electronics, geometries and balance, comparing different set-ups with those used at the recent Misano WorldSBK round.
Having completed all the work it had planned, Team HRC is pleased with the progress made during these sessions.
The team will now continue its work back at base in preparation for round five of the Superbike World Championship, which will play out at the Donington Park circuit in the UK over the weekend of 15-17 July.
Iker Lecuona 7
“After spending one day at Donington last week, which was very useful as I had the chance to experience this beautiful and fun. Albeit very challenging track, we came here to Misano for two more days of testing, and I’m happy with how it’s gone.
We worked through our test plan, and everything went smoothly, without any issues. The team did an excellent job. Xavi was also here, with “Tetsu” Nagashima on the other side of the garage and quite a few Japanese engineers who came from the factory to see for themselves.
Having Tetsu here was important because he is an official HRC test rider in Japan and could personally take part in the testing and share the track with me and other WorldSBK riders.
It has been challenging in such hot and humid conditions, but we can be satisfied because I think we continue improving. We completed two long runs, and the feeling with the bike in the hot weather was pretty good, our race pace better than the recent round we had here.
I think we did an excellent job over the two days. Now I feel a bit tired, but I’m happy and ready for the next step, with the Donington round coming up in a couple of weeks.”
Xavi Vierge 97
“I’ve had mixed feelings here because I wanted to ride but have had surgery recently. We thought it was best to avoid any risk. But I came along anyway because this is my first year in WorldSBK, and I have never had the chance to watch the action trackside, which can be fascinating.
So we decided I would attend, and it’s been exciting to listen to the comments of “Tetsu” and Iker, to understand the different settings they are trying and to watch them and other riders in action to understand more in an attempt to continue improving. So I’m happy to have been here at Misano, and I made the most of the weather by training on my bicycle.
I feel my condition’s improving daily, which is very positive. And of course, spending time with my team in the garage is always lovely, even if it’s not in my usual role.”
Tetsuya Nagashima 45
“It’s been an excellent experience because I’ve had the chance to understand the bike, the Pirelli tyres and the feeling with the CBR here at Misano. We completed a run with Iker today. I followed him and better understood where we needed to improve on the bike.
I tested the CBR in Japan, so this experience was beneficial because we could collect more direct information and exchange opinions with Iker and Xavi. We worked very hard over these two days.
The lap times were not too bad in the end, and the race simulation was also promising. We’ll keep working hard in Japan, and I hope this will help the team and Xavi and Iker. I wish to thank Honda for this great opportunity; I enjoyed being here.”
via press release HRC
