Eighth for Vierge in WorldSBK Race 1 at Balaton; Lecuona ruled out with injury

Vierge finishes eighth in the weekend’s first race at Balaton; incredible bad luck for Lecuona, who was having one of his strongest weekends of the season before being blamelessly taken out by another rider in a first lap crash. He was later declared unfit to continue.

First up for Lecuona and Vierge today was the final practice session, which allowed the duo to make some final preparations ahead of qualifying and Race 1. Along with the rest of the SBK field, both Honda HRC riders set their fastest laps of the weekend, placing seventh and thirteenth respectively. Their ever-increasing performance reflected a growing familiarity with the new track and the solid work the team was doing in terms of bike setup.

Encouraged by the progress made, both riders prepared for the Superpole session, which took place under slightly overcast skies in the late morning. Vierge suffered a small crash in the early stages but was able to rejoin the session. After an initial run that saw them lying sixth and ninth, the session was briefly red-flagged in the closing minutes following a crash for Tito Rabat, which left debris on track—just as Lecuona was attempting his flying lap. With less than three minutes remaining when the session resumed, the team pushed to improve their times, ultimately setting a 1’39.130 with Iker and a 1’39.350 with Xavi. These lap times translated into strong grid positions, sixth and ninth respectively, for a spot on the second and third rows for Race 1.

Lining up for the afternoon’s 21-lap race, the Honda HRC riders got off the line well, but a major seven-rider incident at Turn 2—one that faultlessly involved Lecuona—immediately brought out the red flag. Iker was taken to the medical centre, and later went to the local hospital. Diagnosed with left distal forearm fractures, he will unfortunately take no further part in the weekend. Lecuona will undergo further examinations once back in Spain tomorrow.

The race was restarted and reduced to a distance of 20 laps. From ninth, Vierge worked to get into a rhythm, battling as part of the chasing group and oscillating between eighth and ninth position over the first few laps. Climbing to seventh at a certain point, the Spaniard wasn’t quite able to make it stick, crossing the line eighth at the end of a rather arduous race.

The Honda HRC team will provide further updates on Iker Lecuona’s condition in due course.