Strong Sunday for Vierge at Magny-Cours. García in the points again in Race 2

A very consistent Vierge secures positive ninth and seventh place in Sunday’s WorldSBK races in France, while series rookie García completes an impeccable weekend with another points finish, 15^th in Race 2.

The ninth WorldSBK round at the Nevers Magny-Cours Circuit in France concludes positively for the Honda HRC team, ninth and seventh across the line with factory rider Xavi Vierge. Replacement rider Sergio García did well to reach the points zone in Race 2, the Spaniard demonstrating continual progress over the course of his first ever SBK weekend.

First up for riders Xavi Vierge and Sergio García on Sunday was a short warm-up, which gave the duo an opportunity to check the setting of their CBR1000RR-R bikes ahead of the day’s races. With that done, attention turned to the ten-lap sprint, which ran in dry, sunny conditions later in the morning.

Vierge started the morning’s Superpole race from eleventh on the grid, and García from nineteenth, as per their qualifying results. Part of the chasing group, Xavi initially oscillated between eleventh and thirteenth as he worked to establish a rhythm. Setting his sights on the points zone, the Honda HRC rider moved into ninth place on lap six, a position he held to the line to move one row further forward on the grid for race 2.

García showed grit in his first ever Superpole race. Slipping to the very back of the field, five seconds adrift of the pack, after coming into contact with another rider through turn 2, the gutsy young rider regrouped and mounted a determined comeback, setting a competitive pace that allowed him to reel in and overtake Zaidi, Rabat and Rinaldi. With several other riders crashing out, García’s perseverance was rewarded with a sixteenth-place finish.

Based on the Superpole Race result, Vierge began Race 2 from ninth, while García once again lined up on row seven. Xavi made a spirited start to move into seventh place at the end of the first lap, separated from the top five by just a couple of seconds in the early stages. The Spaniard did well to pass Petrucci and, lapping with the riders fighting for the third step of the podium for almost the entire race, concluded in seventh place.

Twentieth at the end of the opening lap, Sergio steadily built his race. Eighteenth on lap seven, the young rider was able to find a little more pace during the central phase, lapping with times slightly quicker than his closest rivals. Holding firm and maintaining focus, García was lying just two tenths from the points zone with five laps to go. Successfully passing Iannone in the final stages, the rider was pleased to score a championship point by securing fifteenth position.

After nine of twelve rounds, Vierge confirms eighth position in the standings with 122 points.