WSBK Team Honda HRC sets the pace at Assen

WorldSBK 2Round Round 03

Team HRC sets to work in WorldSBK practice at Assen.

The third round of the 202Rounderbike World Championship is now in play at the Assen TT Circuit in The Netherlands, with Team HRC riders Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge putting in a solid performance during Friday’s practice sessions, the aggregate results of which saw fifteen riders close within a second of each other.

The weekend’s first practice ran according to schedule this morning in cool but dry conditions. The two Team HRC riders eagerly got to work with their technicians, adapting the setup of their CBR1000RR-R machines to the tricky Dutch track. This first phase involved minor challenges the duo worked hard to resolve with their respective teams. By the end of FP1, Iker was lying twelfth, having set a best of 1’35.721 and Xavi sixteenth with a 1’35.984.

Later, the riders returned for FP2, focusing predominantly on race pace. Lecuona quickly improved his earlier lap time, shaving off six-tenths throughout the 45-minute session. With a best of 1’35.153, set in the final minutes of this second practice, Iker placed thirteenth overall as day one ended. 

Vierge closed immediately behind his team-mate, in fourteenth position in the aggregate standings, having recorded a fastest time of 1’35.273 in the closing stages of free practice 2. Despite the overall positions on Friday, Lecuona and Vierge have laid a solid base in preparation for tomorrow’s action

Iker Lecuona 7

P13 

“It was not the most accessible first day of a race weekend, considering our expectations here at Assen. This morning we had an issue with the handbrake, nothing major, but still costly in terms of the time it took to sort out, 20 minutes at least, which affected our FP1 work plan. We made some significant changes to our bike setup for FP2, and my feeling about the bike started to improve gradually, though I still needed more. 

We are around eight-tenths from the front, and though the times are indeed all close today, our target is to fight for the podium. So eight-tenths are still too much even if we are three-tenths from the top five. That’s why we need to stay focused and work to check all the data and make a plan that can allow us to make a step during tomorrow’s FP3.”

Xavi Vierge 97

P14 

“We are finally back in action, and it’s been a joyous first day. We have a new rear tyre for the race that we didn’t have last year, and it was essential to making some comparisons to make the best choice. We worked well in this regard. We also came here with a plan B and C, ready for every situation we might encounter, and our race pace was alright today. 

We are in a better situation than it might appear from the timesheets, also considering that this is one of the most demanding tracks on the calendar for me. Everybody is very close regarding lap times, so being consistent regarding race pace will be essential, which is one of our strong points. We will analyse today’s data to try and make another step tomorrow and close the gap a little more.

Free Practices Combined Results after FP2