Team HRC is out on track for the fifth round of the 2022 Superbike World Championship at the Donington Park circuit in the UK. Neither Iker Lecuona or Xavi Vierge has raced at the British track before, although Iker did benefit from a short one-day test last month. The Team HRC duo therefore spent Friday’s sessions getting to grips with the tricky layout and adapting their CBR1000RR-R FIREBLADES to suit, the day something of a learning experience for them both.

Working hard with his technicians, Lecuona set a best of 1’28.807 to place eighth by the end of the morning’s first free practice. Back on the bike for the first time since his Misano accident, Vierge closed in nineteenth position with a time of 1’30.566.

During the afternoon’s second practice both factory riders were soon able to lower their earlier times. Lecuona slightly improved over the course of the 45-minute session, his outright best of the day a 1’28.509, set in the final five minutes, which placed him twelfth in the combined standings. Vierge’s fastest time, a 1’29.336, saw him round out day one in eighteenth position. The Team HRC duo will continue with its work in tomorrow’s final practice, so as to be as prepared as possible for the weekend’s races.

Iker Lecuona 7

“The day started very well, after which we got a little lost. A technical glitch this morning slowed things down a bit and then in FP2 I didn’t feel totally right on the bike. We have something to sort out with the set-up; it’s a bit of a slippery track and maybe the conditions are a bit colder compared to when we came testing here three weeks ago, either way I felt a little less comfortable than expected on the bike. I felt a bit tense while riding and that put a lot of strain on my arm, causing some arm-pump. We need to find something that helps us regain those good sensations we had in the test so that we can get back to a more ‘normal’ position, close to the top five”.

Xavi Vierge 97

“The good thing is that I’m very happy to be back on track and am feeling good enough with my hand at what is a very physical track. I’ve felt OK so far and now just need some laps to adapt and to understand how to go fast here. It was a pity to have missed the tests, which would definitely have helped us a lot, but it is what it is and we just have to focus on the job in hand. We improved quite a lot between FP1 and FP2, especially in terms of race pace. We didn’t use any soft tyre and only worked with the race spec. We are not where we want to be of course, or where we know we can be, but we can be happy in that I can ride as usual, my hand is just fine, and we are doing a good job as a team”.

WorldSBK 2022
Free Practice Round 05   United Kingdom

Free Practices Combined Results after FP2

Dry
Humidity
54%
Track Temp
33°C
Air Temp
22°C
Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 Rea Jonathan 65 GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Kawasaki 1'27.016
2 Razgatlioglu Toprak 1 TUR PATA YAMAHA with BRIXX WorldSBK Yamaha 1'27.567 0.551
3 Redding Scott 45 GBR BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team BMW 1'27.598 0.582
4 Lowes Alex 22 GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Kawasaki 1'27.684 0.668
5 Bautista Alvaro 19 SPA ARUBA Racing - Ducati Ducati 1'27.730 0.714
6 Rinaldi Michael Ruben 21 ITA ARUBA Racing - Ducati Ducati 1'27.735 0.719
7 Baz Loris 76 FRA Bonovo Action BMW BMW 1'28.090 1.074
8 Locatelli Andrea 55 ITA PATA YAMAHA with BRIXX WorldSBK Yamaha 1'28.305 1.289
9 Gerloff Garrett 31 USA GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Yamaha 1'28.431 1.415
10 Haslam Leon 91 GBR TPR Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki 1'28.470 1.454
11 Mahias Lucas 44 FRA Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Kawasaki 1'28.482 1.466
12 Lecuona Iker 7 SPA Team HRC Honda 1'28.509 1.493
13 Bassani Axel 47 ITA Motocorsa Racing Ducati 1'28.534 1.518
14 Öttl Philipp 5 GER Team GOELEVEN Ducati 1'28.713 1.697
15 Mackenzie Tarran 95 GBR McAMS Yamaha Yamaha 1'28.813 1.797
16 Hickman Peter 10 GBR FHO Racing BMW 1'28.966 1.950
17 Laverty Eugene 50 IRE Bonovo Action BMW BMW 1'29.303 2.287
18 Vierge Xavi 97 SPA Team HRC Honda 1'29.336 2.320
19 Tamburini Roberto 2 ITA Yamaha MotoxRacing WorldSBK Team Yamaha 1'29.423 2.407
20 Mykhalchyk Illia 37 UKR BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team BMW 1'29.464 2.448
21 Mercado Leandro 36 ARG MIE Racing HONDA Team Honda 1'29.682 2.666
22 Nozane Kohta 3 JPN GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Yamaha 1'29.752 2.736
23 Ponsson Christophe 23 FRA Team Gil Motor Sport Yamaha 1'30.420 3.404
24 Syahrin Hafizh 35 MAL MIE Racing HONDA Team Honda 1'30.459 3.443
25 Bernardi Luca 29 ITA BARNI Spark Racing Team Ducati 1'30.519 3.503
26 Konig Oliver 52 CZE ORELAC Racing VERDNATURA Kawasaki 1'30.692 3.676
Location Information

Donington Park Circuit Castle Donington, Derby, DE74 2RP, United Kingdom Donington Park

POLE POSITION LEFT
LENGHT 4.023 Km
CORNERS 12
RIGHT CORNERS 7
LEFT CORNERS 5

Records

Pole Record 1'24.629 (171,133 Km/h) T. Razgatlioglu (BMW M 1000 RR, 2024)
Race Record 1'25.597 (169,198 Km/h) T. Razgatlioglu (BMW M 1000 RR, RC2, 2024)
All Time Record 1'24.629 (171,133 Km/h) T. Razgatlioglu (BMW M 1000 RR, 2024)
2024 Race 1 Winner T. Razgatlioglu (BMW M 1000 RR)
2024 Superpole Race Winner T. Razgatlioglu (BMW M 1000 RR)
2024 Race 2 Winner T. Razgatlioglu (BMW M 1000 RR)