Good start for Vierge and García on Friday at Magny-Cours

Xavi Vierge concluded Friday’s WorldSBK action at Magny-Cours in a promising eighth position overall, while Sergio García made his series debut with a day of steady progress and no mistakes.

The Honda HRC team is on track at the Nevers Magny-Cours Circuit in France with Vierge and stand-in rider García. The day brought significant speed, with provisional pole-setter Bulega already dipping below the existing pole record.

The opening practice session got underway mid-morning on a dry track after heavy rain on Thursday. Looking comfortable around the French track and working hard with his technicians throughout the 45-minute phase, Vierge made continuous progress to ultimately complete his best lap in an impressive 1’37.208, the fourth quickest time of the session.

As for Sergio García, this weekend marks his WorldSBK debut. The young Spaniard used the first session to familiarise himself with the circuit, a new one for him, and to build confidence with the CBR1000RR-R, a bike that he rode for the first time during the recent test at Motorland Aragón. By the end of FP1, the 22-year-old had set a best of 1’39.673 to place twenty-second.

FP2 ran in slightly warmer conditions. Vierge again appeared to be immediately at ease and was close to completing a very fast lap when a crash at turn 15 – albeit small enough to allow him to return to the garage on his bike – unfortunately cost him valuable track time.

Reacting swiftly and repairing the bike before the end of the session, the team enabled him to head back out in the final stages, with a determined Xavi intent on making the most of the final minutes. Setting a best of 1’36.414, the Honda HRC factory rider rounded out day one in eighth position in the combined standings.

On the other side of the garage, García continued to work steadily, with a determined yet calm approach that impressed his squad and allowed him to make good progress. His confidence aboard the Honda Superbike clearly grew as the day went on. A best FP2 time of 1’38.065, more than one and a half seconds quicker than his morning reference, saw the young Spaniard close Friday in twenty-second position and eager to continue learning and improving over the weekend.