A tough Race 1 but some small progress for Team HRC at Donington Park

Team HRC rider Iker Lecuona completes Superbike race 1 at Donington Park in thirteenth place; team-mate Xavi Vierge is ruled out of the race on lap two following a turn 12 crash.

Earlier in the day, factory riders Xavi Vierge and Iker Lecuona took advantage of the final dry free practice, making adjustments that allowed them to improve on their best references of Friday, particularly Xavi who took off a good seven tenths of a second.  Despite threatening looking cloud cover, the weather remained dry for the subsequent Superpole qualifying session, which ran according to schedule at 11am local time (CET-1). With only fifteen minutes available in which to secure a grid position for Race 1, Vierge and Lecuona each made two brief exits and set their quickest times later on in the session. While Xavi set a best of 1’26.156, Iker’s fastest time was a 1’26.393, which equated to fourteenth and eighteenth position at the session’s end.

The first of the weekend’s races got started at 2pm, the conditions still dry. Lining up on the fifth and sixth rows of the grid respectively, Vierge and Lecuona both made a good start when the lights went out, placing thirteenth and fourteenth through lap one. Xavi’s race was unfortunately cut short when he fell heading into turn 12 on lap two; although the Spaniard was unhurt, he was unable to continue. Iker held fourteenth for almost the entire duration of the race, part of a group of about five riders who were all lapping with very similar times. Making up one place in the final stages, Lecuona crossed the line thirteenth to score three championship points.