Step by step approach for the Honda HRC team on Friday at Portimão

The Honda HRC team and riders Vierge and Lecuona round out day one of action in Portugal in fourteenth and sixteenth place.

The second round of the 2025 Superbike World Championship is underway at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal, with the Honda HRC team on track with factory riders Xavi Vierge and Iker Lecuona in mild temperatures and sunny conditions.

Lecuona was passed fit to compete only yesterday, on his arrival at the circuit, after working hard in recent weeks to recover from an injury sustained at the opening round in Australia. Taking a more cautious approach and using the first practice to essentially assess his physical condition, the Spaniard nevertheless put in sixteen laps, the best of which in 1’42.795 to position seventeenth. Team-mate Vierge made a good start to the weekend during Friday’s first practice session. Quickly up into the top ten, the factory rider set a series of fast lap times aboard his CBR1000RR-R and ultimately closed the session with a best of 1’41.519, which saw him place ninth.

Back on track later in the day for a second practice, which again ran in warm, sunny conditions, Vierge continued to work systematically with his technicians. Shaving off a few extra tenths with respect to FP1, Xavi put in a solid performance, setting a fastest time of 1’41.143 to place fourteenth.

Lecuona wisely maintained the same attitude in the second session as he had in the morning. His goal this weekend is to gradually regain his speed and connection with the bike, improving his performance step by step. Feeling more confident about his fitness level following an encouraging performance in FP1, he lowered his lap time with each exit, ultimately setting a day’s best of 1’41.737 — a full second quicker than his earlier time — which placed him sixteenth overall as Friday came to an end.