Limited track time for WorldSBK on Friday at Jerez
Team HRC is in action at the Circuito de Jerez in Spain, where it is competing in the final round of the 2023 Superbike World Championship. After eleven hard-fought rounds, factory riders Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge aim to finish the season on a high before beginning their preparations for the 2024 season, with both having extended their contracts with Team HRC.
Friday’s first practice got underway in cloudy conditions and on a wet track. This meant that most of the SBK field elected not to ride, the Team HRC riders included. Fortunately, the pair were able to make the most of dry conditions during the afternoon’s FP2. Lecuona wasted no time, appearing immediately comfortable aboard the CBR1000RR-R and able to lap very close to the top during the first half of the session, when he set his best lap time, a 1’41.631. He was unable to further improve on his lap time in the final stages, unlike most of the other riders, which meant he positioned eleventh at the end of day one. Team-mate Vierge had a few niggles to iron out during this second session, the Spaniard thus closing eighteenth with a time of 1’42.515.
Having missed out on the morning’s session, Team HRC remains confident that it can take further steps forward in tomorrow’ FP3, as it prepares for the subsequent Superpole and the first of the weekend’s races.
Iker Lecuona 7
“The day was tricky as far the weather and track conditions were concerned. We basically missed out on the morning session entirely, with the track half wet and half dry after rain overnight. Our afternoon session got off to a good start though, and I could lap very close to the top guys until about fifteen minutes from the end, when everyone put in a new set of tyres. The others improved but we were not able to, and we don’t really know why we couldn’t make the step that everyone else did on fresh tyres. The feeling on the bike was OK and everything’s working quite well, but we can’t be fast enough so we must check the data to find an answer and make some changes to the bike.”
Xavi Vierge 97
“A strange first day here at Jerez. We couldn’t exploit the whole day as track conditions in the morning essentially made the first session useless. In FP2 the conditions improved but still weren’t perfect, with some wet patches here and there around the track. My feeling on the bike was also a little odd right from the start; it didn’t feel bad, but I couldn’t find the confidence to go faster. Having said that, there’s no specific issue, so it’s probably just a case of linking the dots and making the whole package better. We will check the data and make some comparisons with our pre-season references to find a way to be faster.”
Free Practices Combined Results after FP2
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Razgatlioglu Toprak | 54 | TUR | PATA YAMAHA with BRIXX WorldSBK | Yamaha | 1'40.312 |
| 2 | Gardner Remy | 87 | AUS | GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team | Yamaha | 1'40.556 0.244 |
| 3 | Bautista Alvaro | 1 | SPA | ARUBA Racing - Ducati | Ducati | 1'40.632 0.320 |
| 4 | Rinaldi Michael Ruben | 21 | ITA | ARUBA Racing - Ducati | Ducati | 1'40.710 0.398 |
| 5 | Aegerter Dominique | 77 | SWI | GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team | Yamaha | 1'40.823 0.511 |
| 6 | Öttl Philipp | 5 | GER | Team GOELEVEN | Ducati | 1'40.858 0.546 |
| 7 | Gerloff Garrett | 31 | USA | Bonovo Action BMW | BMW | 1'41.258 0.946 |
| 8 | Petrucci Danilo | 9 | ITA | BARNI Spark Racing Team | Ducati | 1'41.278 0.966 |
| 9 | Locatelli Andrea | 55 | ITA | PATA YAMAHA with BRIXX WorldSBK | Yamaha | 1'41.294 0.982 |
| 10 | Redding Scott | 45 | GBR | ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team | BMW | 1'41.507 1.195 |
| 11 | Lecuona Iker | 7 | SPA | Team HRC | Honda | 1'41.631 1.319 |
| 12 | van der Mark Michael | 60 | NDL | ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team | BMW | 1'41.686 1.374 |
| 13 | Rea Jonathan | 65 | GBR | Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK | Kawasaki | 1'41.724 1.412 |
| 14 | Bassani Axel | 47 | ITA | Motocorsa Racing | Ducati | 1'41.946 1.634 |
| 15 | Baldassarri Lorenzo | 34 | ITA | GMT94 Yamaha | Yamaha | 1'42.148 1.836 |
| 16 | Lowes Alex | 22 | GBR | Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK | Kawasaki | 1'42.250 1.938 |
| 17 | Baz Loris | 76 | FRA | Bonovo Action BMW | BMW | 1'42.514 2.202 |
| 18 | Vierge Xavi | 97 | SPA | Team HRC | Honda | 1'42.515 2.203 |
| 19 | Syahrin Hafizh | 35 | MAL | PETRONAS MIE Racing HONDA Team | Honda | 1'42.865 2.553 |
| 20 | Rabat Tito | 53 | SPA | Kawasaki Puccetti Racing | Kawasaki | 1'42.982 2.670 |
| 21 | Alt Florian | 61 | GER | Holzhauer Racing Promotion | Honda | 1'43.601 3.289 |
| 22 | Ruiu Gabriele | 16 | ITA | B-Max Racing Team | BMW | 1'43.904 3.592 |
| 23 | Mercado Leandro | 36 | ARG | PETRONAS MIE Racing HONDA Team | Honda | 1'44.151 3.839 |
| 24 | Konig Oliver | 52 | CZE | ORELAC Racing VERDNATURA | Kawasaki | 1'44.256 3.944 |
Location Information
Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto Carretera Jerez-Arcos, km 10 – Apdo de Correos 35 11592 Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz) – Spain circuitodejerez.com
| POLE POSITION | RIGHT |
| LENGTH | 4.423 Km |
| CORNERS | 13 |
| RIGHT CORNERS | 8 |
| LEFT CORNERS | 5 |
Records
| Pole Record | 1'38.247 (162,07 Km/h) J.Rea (Kawasaki ZX-10RR, 2019) |
| Race Record | 1'39.004 (160,83 Km/h) A.Bautista (Ducati Panigale V4 R, 2019) |
| All Time Record | 1'38.247 (162,07 Km/h) J.Rea (Kawasaki ZX-10RR, 2019) |
| 2023 Race 1 Winner | A.Bautista (Ducati Panigale V4 R) |
| 2023 Superpole Race Winner | A.Bautista (Ducati Panigale V4 R) |
| 2023 Race 2 Winner | A.Bautista (Ducati Panigale V4 R) |
