The 2022 World Superbike season begins to get underway and, after the first test sessions, the waltz of the presentations begins. The Honda HRC team opens the dance, unveiling the CBR1000RR-R that will take to the track during this championship and will do so with a totally renewed line-up. The day of the presentation is also the first official event for Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge, the pilots committed to driving the Fireblade in what will be their debut season in the world championship of production derivatives.
The two Spanish riders, who replace Alvaro Bautista and Leon Haslam, have already begun to familiarize themselves with the Fireblade. In fact, Vierge and Lecuona have already taken to the track during two test sessions, both held in Jerez de la Frontera at the end of last season and in January 2022. Before the start of the season they will also be back on track for another test session. , scheduled in Aragon on 9 and 10 April.
The balance drawn up at the end of the two tests is certainly positive for the former MotoGP rider and the former Moto2, who immediately proved to be fast and at ease with the CBR1000RR-R. The main objective of what remains of the winter is to continue to adapt to the bike in order to be able to arrive at the beginning of the season in the best possible conditions, but it seems that the direction taken is already excellent.
Leon Camier, HRC Team Manager for the second consecutive year, said he was very satisfied with both riders at the end of the tests, revealing that they are already very competitive. Both Vierge and Lecuona give the same indications on the bike and this will be essential in order to continue to grow and try to improve the results of last season, in which Honda collected two podiums with Bautista, in Jerez and Barcelona.
Xavi Vierge expresses his enthusiasm for this new adventure: “At the beginning of last season, when my manager told me about this possibility, I thought the opportunity to race with the factory Honda team in the World Supebrike was incredible. So, we took the opportunity to try. There is a lot to learn, but I’m lucky enough because we have a few days of testing before the season starts, and that will be very helpful in adapting to the bike. The team is also helping me a lot. We are two young drivers who come from another championship, and everything is new for us. We have a lot of power, a lot of emotion, and we will challenge each other. I think the challenging part is when you arrive in a new championship with a new bike, it’s all bad. If you have a teammate with experience in that championship, you can talk to him about the bike, the tires. We in this sense have Leon Camier, who has been a driver for many years, so we can talk a lot with him, and he can help us. I feel pretty good. We continue to work “.
Iker Lecuona, who is also making his Superbike debut, echoes him: “I’m really happy. When Honda came to talk to me to offer me Superbike, that became the first option for me. First of all because it is a factory team, then because it is Honda. I think Honda is one of the best motorcycle builders in the world and I’m really happy to get started. I don’t think I have to change my riding style much, I’m a rider and I can adapt, if the bike needs something, I try to help it go faster. The feeling is completely different: tires, suspension, chassis, everything is completely different from what I was used to. It is something I have to learn. I need more kilometers, but for now I’m pretty happy so we’ll see during the winter tests, but I think it will be fine. A challenge is to have three races in a weekend, it will be physically demanding, but it is also a good thing, because I am a driver who loves to play on the limit line. Sometimes I fall. So, with three races I have a better chance of having a good result ”.
Leon Camier, HRC Team Manager, is confident in view of 2022: “It is really exciting for me to start a new season as Team Manager of the official Honda Superbike team. I will put all my efforts to improve and develop the team to the fullest. Of course one of the main arguments regarding the team is our new line-up of drivers, Iker and Xavi. Our first impressions were really good. The speed they immediately demonstrated on the bike was impressive, we were quite surprised that they were able to quickly set good lap times in the first test. They both gave similar feedback, which is very positive for us, as it gives us a solid direction to work in, both this year and into the future. Technically, some changes have been made to the bike and everyone is very excited about the work that has been done in Japan. We know everyone has worked hard and we are eager to see what kind of progress we can make this year ”.
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