Honda HRC fights in the top five in both of Sunday’s races
The Honda HRC Team rounds out the Cremona WorldSBK round with positive results, as Vierge finishes fifth in the Sprint and seventh in Race 2, and Lecuona stages an impressive comeback from the back of the grid to take sixth in Race 2.
After a strong showing at Italy’s Cremona Circuit on Saturday, Honda HRC riders Xavi Vierge and Iker Lecuona were keen for more as they prepared for Sunday’s short Superpole race and the second full-length SBK race. After utilising the brief morning warm-up to assess some final details, the factory duo was back out at 11am (CET) for the ten-lap Superpole sprint. Thanks to their qualifying results, Xavi started the race from fifth on the grid, Iker from ninth. A good start for both riders saw them place sixth and seventh through the first turns, though Iker then slipped to eleventh in battling as part of the chasing group. Vierge progressed to fifth by the mid-race point, and Lecuona to tenth, the latter eager for a top nine finish in order to improve his grid position for Race 2. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be for Iker, the Spaniard crashing at Turn 2 with just two laps to go. Teammate Xavi held firm in fifth, crossing the line in this same position to confirm the same spot on the grid for the weekend’s final race.
The second and final 23-lap race ran in dry conditions in the early afternoon. Straight up into fourth, a hungry Vierge fought hard to stick with the frontrunners. Passed by Petrucci in the early stages, the Spaniard lay fifth for the best part of the race, demonstrating a consistently strong pace. Only in the final stages did he have to concede to Lecuona and Lowes, the factory rider seventh across the line. From the fourth row of the grid, Lecuona slipped to thirteenth off the line but quickly bounced back to tenth, battling with van der Mark and passing the Dutchman on lap nine. Up into eighth with ten laps to go, Iker soon moved in on Locatelli, passing him on lap eighteen. Not content with that, the Spaniard continued to push, reaching his teammate and Lowes and managing to pass both to move into fifth on the penultimate lap. Just pipped to fifth through the last corners, Lecuona was nevertheless satisfied with sixth, considering the progress he made over the course of this 23-lap race.
A series of strong results over the first four rounds means that Vierge now lies eighth in the general standings with 62 points while Lecuona positions thirteenth with a tally of 44. The Honda HRC team will continue its campaign at Autodrom Most, which will host the Superbikes for round five over the weekend of 16-18 May.
Xavi Vierge 97
“Let’s say I’m happy overall with the weekend. I think we did a good job. This year, it seems like we’ve often managed to perform well on Saturdays, and less so on Sundays, but this time we were strong on Sunday too. So in the end, we wrapped up a solid weekend, working very well as a team. Even if it was just small details, we kept making adjustments to the bike throughout the weekend and always in the right direction, so I have to thank my team for that. The Superpole Race was good - I made a strong start and was able to fight inside the top five again. And Race 2 was also very positive, as I made another good start and was able to stick with the front group. I tried to push with them and break away from the pack behind, and I managed to do that. Unfortunately, I worked the tyres hard over the last seven or eight laps, and at the end I didn’t have anything left. I tried to fight for the top five, but it just wasn’t possible. Still, I think it was a solid weekend. We scored a lot of points for the championship and we’re on a good path.”
Iker Lecuona 7
“Finally, I'm happy, really happy, with at least one of my races here in Cremona. This morning, in the warm-up, the track conditions had changed a lot and I didn’t feel very comfortable on the bike, nor in the Superpole Race. I had a big moment on the first lap when van der Mark hit me really hard, and I lost several positions. I dropped from P6 or P7 down to P13. I managed to work by way back to tenth, but then I crashed because I was simply overriding. After that, it became difficult for me as I lost a bit of focus and got frustrated. But I’m also proud because I was able to reset and go into Race 2 with a clear mind. The team really helped me, not only by supporting me in every moment, but also by quickly repairing all the bikes I destroyed! My start in Race 2 was horrible. I found myself in P13 in the first sector. But I told myself: ‘No way.’ I took my time, properly warmed up the rear tyre, and then started to push. My pace actually surprised me. Even over the last four laps, I was still lapping in the 29.7-29.8 range and overtaking a lot of riders. I really enjoyed it. I reached P5 on the penultimate lap. It’s true that Sam overtook me on the last lap, but that’s okay. It was a good battle. He even came up to me after the race and we joked about that move. When he passed me, he expected me to try something through Turn 13, so he just shut the door. Anyway, it was fun. I’m happy to finish P6 and with such strong pace. Now let’s focus on the next one. I can’t promise I won’t make mistakes — no rider can — but I can promise I’ll keep trying to have more races like today, enjoying myself and giving something to the fans too.”
Results Tissot Superpole Race
Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Points | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bulega Nicolò | 11 | ITA | 12 | ARUBA Racing - Ducati | Ducati | Time of Race 14'47.489 |
2 | Razgatlioglu Toprak | 1 | TUR | 9 | ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team | BMW | 1.456 |
3 | Bautista Alvaro | 19 | SPA | 7 | ARUBA Racing - Ducati | Ducati | 6.060 |
4 | Lowes Sam | 14 | GBR | 6 | ELF Marc VDS Racing Team | Ducati | 7.154 |
5 | Vierge Xavi | 97 | SPA | 5 | Honda HRC | Honda | 10.838 |
6 | Petrucci Danilo | 9 | ITA | 4 | BARNI Spark Racing Team | Ducati | 11.328 |
7 | Locatelli Andrea | 55 | ITA | 3 | Pata Maxus Yamaha | Yamaha | 12.627 |
8 | Iannone Andrea | 29 | ITA | 2 | Team Pata Go Eleven | Ducati | 12.864 |
9 | van der Mark Michael | 60 | NDL | 1 | ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team | BMW | 13.362 |
10 | Gardner Remy | 87 | AUS | 0 | GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team | Yamaha | 14.290 |
11 | Redding Scott | 45 | GBR | 0 | Bonovo MGM Racing | Ducati | 14.742 |
12 | Lowes Alex | 22 | GBR | 0 | bimota by Kawasaki Racing team | Bimota | 14.952 |
13 | Aegerter Dominique | 77 | SWI | 0 | GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team | Yamaha | 16.165 |
14 | Montella Yari | 5 | ITA | 0 | BARNI Spark Racing Team | Ducati | 17.208 |
15 | Gerloff Garrett | 31 | USA | 0 | Kawasaki WorldSBK Team | Kawasaki | 17.507 |
16 | Rea Jonathan | 65 | GBR | 0 | Pata Maxus Yamaha | Yamaha | 19.242 |
17 | Vickers Ryan James | 17 | GBR | 0 | Motocorsa Racing | Ducati | 19.471 |
18 | Bassani Axel | 47 | ITA | 0 | bimota by Kawasaki Racing team | Bimota | 19.849 |
19 | Sofuoglu Bahattin | 99 | TUR | 0 | Yamaha MotoxRacing WorldSBK Team | Yamaha | 20.904 |
20 | Rabat Tito | 53 | SPA | 0 | Yamaha MotoxRacing WorldSBK Team | Yamaha | 25.885 |
21 | Ruiu Gabriele | 16 | ITA | 0 | B-Max Racing Team | Ducati | 34.146 |
22 | Zaidi Zaqhwan | 21 | MAL | 0 | PETRONAS MIE Racing HONDA Team | Honda | 38.914 |
23 | Lecuona Iker | 7 | SPA | 0 | Honda HRC | Honda | 2 Laps |
24 | Mackenzie Tarran | 95 | GBR | 0 | PETRONAS MIE Racing HONDA Team | Honda | 3 Laps |
Results Race 2
Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Points | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bulega Nicolò | 11 | ITA | 25 | ARUBA Racing - Ducati | Ducati | Time of Race 34'13.292 |
2 | Razgatlioglu Toprak | 1 | TUR | 20 | ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team | BMW | 1.826 |
3 | Bautista Alvaro | 19 | SPA | 16 | ARUBA Racing - Ducati | Ducati | 8.995 |
4 | Petrucci Danilo | 9 | ITA | 13 | BARNI Spark Racing Team | Ducati | 17.888 |
5 | Lowes Sam | 14 | GBR | 11 | ELF Marc VDS Racing Team | Ducati | 22.131 |
6 | Lecuona Iker | 7 | SPA | 10 | Honda HRC | Honda | 22.333 |
7 | Vierge Xavi | 97 | SPA | 9 | Honda HRC | Honda | 22.950 |
8 | Locatelli Andrea | 55 | ITA | 8 | Pata Maxus Yamaha | Yamaha | 24.813 |
9 | van der Mark Michael | 60 | NDL | 7 | ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team | BMW | 26.202 |
10 | Gardner Remy | 87 | AUS | 6 | GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team | Yamaha | 26.889 |
11 | Lowes Alex | 22 | GBR | 5 | bimota by Kawasaki Racing team | Bimota | 27.069 |
12 | Gerloff Garrett | 31 | USA | 4 | Kawasaki WorldSBK Team | Kawasaki | 29.127 |
13 | Redding Scott | 45 | GBR | 3 | Bonovo MGM Racing | Ducati | 30.880 |
14 | Iannone Andrea | 29 | ITA | 2 | Team Pata Go Eleven | Ducati | 31.586 |
15 | Bassani Axel | 47 | ITA | 1 | bimota by Kawasaki Racing team | Bimota | 32.225 |
16 | Montella Yari | 5 | ITA | 0 | BARNI Spark Racing Team | Ducati | 32.609 |
17 | Sofuoglu Bahattin | 99 | TUR | 0 | Yamaha MotoxRacing WorldSBK Team | Yamaha | 43.500 |
18 | Rea Jonathan | 65 | GBR | 0 | Pata Maxus Yamaha | Yamaha | 44.225 |
19 | Aegerter Dominique | 77 | SWI | 0 | GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team | Yamaha | 1'07.338 |
20 | Zaidi Zaqhwan | 21 | MAL | 0 | PETRONAS MIE Racing HONDA Team | Honda | 1'18.660 |
21 | Rabat Tito | 53 | SPA | 0 | Yamaha MotoxRacing WorldSBK Team | Yamaha | 17 Laps |
22 | Mackenzie Tarran | 95 | GBR | 0 | PETRONAS MIE Racing HONDA Team | Honda | 18 Laps |
23 | Vickers Ryan James | 17 | GBR | 0 | Motocorsa Racing | Ducati | 19 Laps |
24 | Ruiu Gabriele | 16 | ITA | 0 | B-Max Racing Team | Ducati | 22 Laps |
Location Information
*Cremona Circuit: Strada Giuseppina 2, San Martino del Lago – 26040 (Cremona) Italy Tel: +39 0375 350359 E-mail: info@cremonacircuit.it Website: cremonacircuit.it ———————————————————– *Courtesy of DWO
POLE POSITION | RIGHT |
LENGTH | 3.768 Km |
CORNERS | 13 |
RIGHT CORNERS | 6 |
LEFT CORNERS | 7 |
Records
Pole Record | 1'27.866 (154,381 Km/h) D.Bulega (Ducati Panigale V4R, 2025) |
Race Record | 1'27.980 (154,180 Km/h Km/h) D.Bulega (Ducati Panigale V4R, SPRC,2025) |
All Time Record | 1'27.866 (154,381 Km/h) D.Bulega (Ducati Panigale V4R, 2025) |
2025 Race 1 Winner | N. Bulega (Ducati Panigale V4R) |
2025 Superpole Race Winner | N. Bulega (Ducati Panigale V4R) |
2025 Race 2 Winner | N. Bulega (Ducati Panigale V4R) |