Vierge boosts his points tally in Indonesia

Team HRC rider Xavi Vierge rounds out a solid penultimate Superbike World Championship round at the Mandalika International Street Circuit in Indonesia with a ninth and seventh place finish in Sunday’s races.

The day brought two Superbike races, both of which ran in extreme conditions with a track temperature that reached over 60°C in Race 2. As the Superpole race got underway mid-morning, Vierge held seventh through the first corners. Lying just a couple of tenths from sixth, Xavi was working hard to close in on his nearest rival when another rider made contact on lap four which unfortunately saw him run off the clean trajectory and slip back to tenth. Having lost precious time, Xavi was able to make up one place but no more, also considering the limited number of laps available, to cross the line ninth.

His result in the earlier Superpole race was nevertheless enough to keep him on the third row of the grid for the weekend’s full-length second Superbike race. Getting away well when the lights went out, Vierge was eighth through the first corners and moved into seventh on lap two. Battling with Redding and then Lowes, Xavi moved into sixth place on lap seven. Despite dropping one place in the final stages to finish the race seventh, he ran a consistent race all the way to the line, roughly 15 seconds up on his time in yesterdays’ race.

With Alvaro Bautista crowned 2022 World Champion and just one round left to run, Iker Lecuona, unable to collect points this weekend, positions ninth in the rider standings with 189 points, while Xavi Vierge places tenth with 154 points. Team HRC will now travel directly to Phillip Island in Australia where the WorldSBK season finale will play out in just seven days’ time.