Team HRC has competed in today’s opening race of the 2022 Superbike World Championship at the Motorland Aragón circuit in Spain, with factory riders Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge, both rookies in the production-derived series, crossing the line a strong sixth and seventh in their debut WorldSBK race.

Having made a few final adjustments during the morning’s final practice session, the two Team HRC riders then got their first taste of the Superbike qualifying phase, the all-important Superpole. With just 15 minutes in which to secure the best possible grid position, Lecuona and Vierge did their best to exploit the limited track time and, by the end of the brief phase, had set a best of 1’49.329 and 1’49.655 respectively. This meant that they qualified on the third and fifth row of the grid respectively, in seventh and thirteenth position.

The lights went out on the first race of the 2022 season at 2pm CET. Lecuona made a very strong start and was straight up to fifth through the first turns. Vierge made a similarly rapid start, making up five places through the first corners to place eighth at the end of lap one. Losing just a little ground in the opening stages, Lecuona maintained a strong pace and sixth place throughout the central part of the race, just ahead of his team-mate Vierge, who dealt with the pain and fatigue caused by recent injury to defend an impressive seventh place. The Team HRC pairing ran a consistent race from there on in, holding sixth and seventh all the way to the line to score solid points in their first official WorldSBK outing with the CBR1000RR-R FIREBLADES.

The Team HRC riders will now prepare for tomorrow’s action, with the Tissot Superpole race taking place at 11am CET followed by the second and final Superbike race at 2pm CET.

Iker Lecuona 7

P6

“I’m really very happy, as we’ve made a very good start in Superbike today. The first target was to complete a consistent race and then, of course, to score as strong a result as possible. I didn’t know what to expect in this morning’s qualifying, as it was totally new for me with these tyres, but it went very well, honestly. I lapped alone and finished seventh, not a bad position at all. Then in the race I didn’t expect P6 to be honest, but I made a very good start and was able to overtake a couple of guys in the first corner, so I immediately realised I had good pace. At a certain point, I lost the leading group but throughout the race my team-mate and I were able to gain a few seconds on those chasing us. We must continue to work and improve of course, but the bike has strong potential. It’s also great to be racing at home and have the fans back here supporting us. Feeling this support is fantastic. Tomorrow we have another great opportunity, so we’ll analyse today’s data and see what we can do in the next two races.”

Xavi Vierge 97

P7

“I’m really happy because we started this weekend having no idea whether we could finish the race. I broke a rib in testing at Barcelona only a couple of weeks ago and so to finish this first race, and with a good result too, represents a great start for us. I struggled a lot this morning to be honest and then in the race, I just focused on staying calm and trying to ride smoothly in order to reach the line. So this is important, because I’ve understood how to go fast without overdoing things physically speaking. Now we’ll check the data and see if we can take another small step tomorrow. Everything is new for me with the Honda of course, but we’ve improved with each exit and, step by step, I’m learning how to exploit the bike’s potential, so I’m very pleased. I want to thank my physiotherapist for helping me get here today and my team for supporting me in every way.”

WorldSBK 2022
Race Round 01   Aragon

Superpole

Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 Razgatlioglu Toprak 1 TUR PATA YAMAHA with BRIXX WorldSBK Yamaha 1'48.267
2 Bautista Alvaro 19 SPA ARUBA Racing - Ducati Ducati 1'48.273 / 0.006
3 Rea Jonathan 65 GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Kawasaki 1'48.476 / 0.209
4 Rinaldi Michael Ruben 21 ITA ARUBA Racing - Ducati Ducati 1'48.755 / 0.488
5 Lowes Alex 22 GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Kawasaki 1'48.986 / 0.719
6 Locatelli Andrea 55 ITA PATA YAMAHA with BRIXX WorldSBK Yamaha 1'48.998 / 0.731
7 Lecuona Iker 7 SPA Team HRC Honda 1'49.329 / 1.062
8 Mykhalchyk Illia 37 UKR BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team BMW 1'49.447 / 1.180
9 Bassani Alex 47 ITA Motocorsa Racing Ducati 1'49.454 / 1.187
10 Baz Loris 76 FRA Bonovo Action BMW BMW 1'49.469 / 1.202
11 Gerloff Garrett 31 USA GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Yamaha 1'49.541 / 1.274
12 Öttl Philipp 5 GER Team GOELEVEN Ducati 1'49.636 / 1.369
13 Vierge Xavi 97 SPA Team HRC Honda 1'49.655 / 1.388
14 Laverty Eugene 50 IRE Bonovo Action BMW BMW 1'49.659 / 1.392
15 Tamburini Roberto 2 ITA Yamaha MotoxRacing WorldSBK Team Yamaha 1'49.729 / 1.462
16 Redding Scott 45 GBR BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team BMW 1'49.758 / 1.491
17 Mahias Lucas 44 FRA Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Kawasaki 1'50.081 / 1.814
18 Bernardi Luca 29 ITA BARNI Spark Racing Team Ducati 1'50.114 / 1.847
19 Nozane Kohta 3 JPN GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Yamaha 1'51.098 / 2.831
20 Ruiu Gabriele 16 ITA B-Max Racing Team BMW 1'51.255 / 2.988
21 Ponsson Christophe 23 FRA Team Gil Motor Sport Yamaha 1'51.522 / 3.255
22 Mercado Leandro 36 ARG MIE Racing HONDA Team Honda 1'51.689 / 3.422
23 Syahrin Hafizh 35 MAL MIE Racing HONDA Team Honda 1'52.012 / 3.745
24 Cresson Loris 84 BEL TPR Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki 1'52.650 / 4.383
25 Konig Oliver 52 CZE ORELAC Racing VERDNATURA Kawasaki 1'52.839 / 4.572
WorldSBK 2022
Race Round 01   Aragon

Race 1 Results

Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 Rea Jonathan 65 GBR 25 Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Kawasaki 33'13.308
2 Bautista Alvaro 19 SPA 20 ARUBA Racing - Ducati Ducati 0.090
3 Razgatlioglu Toprak 1 TUR 16 PATA YAMAHA with BRIXX WorldSBK Yamaha 5.416
4 Rinaldi Michael Ruben 21 ITA 13 ARUBA Racing - Ducati Ducati 10.272
5 Locatelli Andrea 55 ITA 11 PATA YAMAHA with BRIXX WorldSBK Yamaha 15.767
6 Lecuona Iker 7 SPA 10 Team HRC Honda 18.760
7 Vierge Xavi 97 SPA 9 Team HRC Honda 21.521
8 Mykhalchyk Illia 37 UKR 8 BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team BMW 21.605
9 Gerloff Garrett 31 USA 7 GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Yamaha 21.946
10 Laverty Eugene 50 IRE 6 Bonovo Action BMW BMW 25.346
11 Baz Loris 76 FRA 5 Bonovo Action BMW BMW 25.927
12 Bernardi Luca 29 ITA 4 BARNI Spark Racing Team Ducati 28.460
13 Öttl Philipp 5 GER 3 Team GOELEVEN Ducati 28.728
14 Mahias Lucas 44 FRA 2 Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Kawasaki 29.117
15 Redding Scott 45 GBR 1 BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team BMW 29.637
16 Bassani Alex 47 ITA 0 Motocorsa Racing Ducati 30.861
17 Tamburini Roberto 2 ITA 0 Yamaha MotoxRacing WorldSBK Team Yamaha 31.463
18 Nozane Kohta 3 JPN 0 GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Yamaha 33.158
19 Ponsson Christophe 23 FRA 0 Team Gil Motor Sport Yamaha 53.223
20 Mercado Leandro 36 ARG 0 MIE Racing HONDA Team Honda 56.013
21 Syahrin Hafizh 35 MAL 0 MIE Racing HONDA Team Honda 58.036
22 Konig Oliver 52 CZE 0 ORELAC Racing VERDNATURA Kawasaki 1'08.037
23 Cresson Loris 84 BEL 0 TPR Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki 1'16.388
24 Lowes Alex 22 GBR 0 Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Kawasaki 12 Laps
25 Ruiu Gabriele 16 ITA 0 B-Max Racing Team BMW 14 Laps
Location Information

The MotorLand Aragon road racing circuit was opened in 2009 and in 2011 it became the fifth Spanish track to host the WorldSBK™ Championship. MotorLand Aragón Ctra. TE- V- 7033 KM. 1. 44600 Alcañiz (Teruel) – Spain motorlandaragon.com

Pole Position Right
Length 5.077 Km
Corners 17
Right Corners 7
Left Corners 10

Records

Pole Record 1'47.973 (169,276) J.Rea (Kawasaki ZX-10RR, 2023)
Race Record 1'49.028 (167,638 Km/h) J.Rea (Kawasaki ZX-10RR, 2023) SPRC
All Time Record 1'47.973 (169,276) J.Rea (Kawasaki ZX-10RR, 2023)
2023 Race 1 Winner M. Rinaldi (Ducati Panigale V4 R)
2023 Superpole Race Winner A. Bautista (Ducati Panigale V4 R)
2023 Race 2 Winner A. Bautista (Ducati Panigale V4 R)