Vierge a strong P6 in Race 2 at Estoril; Lecuona crashes while chasing a podium

Team HRC concludes the eleventh WorldSBK round at the Estoril Circuit with Vierge placing seventh and sixth in Sunday’s races, making it fourteen consecutive top ten finishes for the Spaniard. P8 in the Superpole race, Lecuona crashed out of Race 2 while lying a close fourth and chasing a podium.

After securing its first podium of the 2024 season with Iker Lecuona in Saturday’s Race 1, Team HRC was back on track for the Superpole race and Race 2. An early morning warm-up that ran in dry conditions but on a damp track saw only a few SBK riders venture out and while Xavi Vierge opted to make a handful of laps, Lecuona remained in the garage.

Vierge and Lecuona lined up in thirteenth and fourteenth place for Sunday morning’s Superpole race. In a sprint that ran in dry conditions, the pair got away well, particularly Xavi who quickly passed six or seven riders to place sixth by the end of lap one. Passing Rea shortly afterwards, the Spaniard held fifth for a time before finding himself battling Rea, Lowes and Bautista. Twelfth through the first turns, Iker worked to establish the kind of rhythm that would allow him to catch and pass the group immediately ahead and was up into ninth by lap three. Despite having opted for different tyres to each other, the performance of the Team HRC riders proved similar, with Xavi concluding P7 and Iker P8, separated by just 1.5 seconds.

The second and final 21-lap race of the Estoril weekend got underway in the early afternoon, with Vierge and Lecuona starting seventh and eighth thanks to their Superpole race results. The factory riders held these positions through the first corners with Lecuona soon moving ahead of his team-mate and Petrucci to position P6. Part of a trio of riders battling for fourth, he passed Rea on lap five, with no intention of settling for fifth. A crash for Locatelli on lap eight allowed Iker to move into fourth, from where the Spaniard immediately set out to chase down Bautista, who was just 1.6 seconds ahead. Unfortunately, Iker lost control of his bike on lap ten, ending his race in the gravel at Turn 6.

Vierge made a good start, maintaining seventh place in the opening laps before engaging in a few battles with other riders, which caused him to lose a couple of positions by lap three. He showed consistent pace during the first half of the race and held ninth, before moving up to seventh on lap fourteen and ultimately securing sixth on the very last lap. Having scored 21 points this weekend, Vierge lies eleventh with a tally of 125 points.

Lecuona positions twelfth with 123. The 2024 WorldSBK season finale will play out next weekend (18-20 October) at the Jerez Circuit in Spain.