Team HRC and rider Iker Lecuona put in an impressive performance during the morning’s all-important Superpole to secure pole position, the rider’s first of the season and the manufacturer’s first since 2016. In the subsequent first race, the Spaniard battled long and hard for the podium until a lack of grip in the final laps forced him to settle for sixth.

The Superpole qualifying session got underway in dry, sunny conditions. Having dominated in two of three practice sessions, Lecuona’s first timed lap (1’41.330) in the brief 15-minute qualifying phase put him straight up into first place. In the final minutes, as the entire field returned to the track with a qualifying tyre, the Team HRC rider was able to further improve on his previous time, by more than half a second in fact. Showing incredible speed and a real affinity with his FIREBLADE and his home track, WorldSBK rookie Iker set an incredible 1’40.766 to secure his first pole of the season, and the first for Honda since 2016 (the last was scored by Michael Van der Mark at that year’s Thai round).

Team-mate Vierge started the session strong but couldn’t find the same grip with the second qualifying tyre in the final stages. With a best of 1’41.683, the Spaniard qualified ninth for the afternoon’s race.

Race 1 got underway as scheduled at 2pm local time. From the front of the grid, Lecuona lost a few positions off the line and was lying fifth through the first turns. Up into fourth on lap two, the Spaniard was able to stick with the frontrunners and pass Lowes to move into third on lap four. Lapping with almost identical pace to the riders immediately behind him, Iker had to pull out all the stops to defend his position. He was able to do so until lap fourteen, when three riders managed to pass him in quick succession. Fighting hard all the way to the line, Lecuona crossed the line a respectable sixth, although he had hoped for much more considering his front row start. He will nevertheless have another opportunity to exploit pole position in tomorrow morning’s Superpole race.

Twelfth by the end of lap one, Vierge made up one position in the early stages but had trouble making any further progress throughout the first half of the race. Managing to pass Baz at the mid-race point, Xavi continued to push but a significant gap had already opened up ahead of him, preventing him from making up any further ground. Vierge therefore crossed the line in twelfth place in this first Superbike race.

 

Iker Lecuona 7

Superpole P1 Race1 P6

“Of course, being able to set pole is a great pleasure for me, for the team and also for Honda. Marc did it in Japan today, and we have done it here and it’s clearly important to show everyone we have this speed and this potential, that all the Hondas have it in fact. But we need time to get there, and that’s the frustrating part for me, the reason why I cannot be happy with today’s final outcome. We started the weekend very strong, and I felt good in the free practices. I was able to ride fast and always alone. I didn’t expect to be on pole in qualifying to be honest, but I followed Johnny and that reference definitely helped me, but I also had the speed to do it. So, I felt confident we could do well in race 1. Everything was going well in the first half of the race - we went with a hard spec and I was able to manage the tyres, the throttle and the electronics as planned, and stay in the podium fight. A real podium fight, not one that had to do with crashes for other riders or whatever. But in the final part of the race, some grip problem that we experienced on other occasions emerged again and I couldn’t continue the fight. This is the worse feeling for me, to know we have the potential but are unable to put it to good use and fight. We will get there, I know that, but for now I feel frustrated. Let's see if tomorrow can be better".

Xavi Vierge 97

Superpole P9 Race1 P12

“Again, it has been a day of ups and downs. During qualifying this morning we felt strong on the first tyre and made a very fast first flying lap. But the second tyre didn’t give me the same feeling and I couldn’t improve my time. We were confident for the race anyway, because we’d worked hard on our race pace yesterday. The temperature was colder today though, so we opted for a different rear tyre to what we originally planned and unfortunately I never felt as fast or as comfortable as I did yesterday. At least we finished the race and learned something, after two recent DNFs. Let’s see what the weather conditions are like tomorrow, and we’ll try to work well and make good choices so that we can finish stronger.”

WorldSBK 2022
Race Round 08   Catalunya

Results Tissot Superpole

Dry
Humidity
76%
Track Temp
23°C
Air Temp
19°C
Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 Lecuona Iker 7 SPA Team HRC Honda 1'40.766
2 Lowes Alex 22 GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Kawasaki 1'40.789 0.023
3 Rea Jonathan 65 GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Kawasaki 1'40.983 0.217
4 Locatelli Andrea 55 ITA PATA YAMAHA with BRIXX WorldSBK Yamaha 1'40.991 0.225
5 Bautista Alvaro 19 SPA ARUBA Racing - Ducati Ducati 1'41.148 0.382
6 Gerloff Garrett 31 USA GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Yamaha 1'41.208 0.442
7 Bassani Axel 47 ITA Motocorsa Racing Ducati 1'41.594 0.828
8 Razgatlioglu Toprak 1 TUR PATA YAMAHA with BRIXX WorldSBK Yamaha 1'41.638 0.872
9 Vierge Xavi 97 SPA Team HRC Honda 1'41.683 0.917
10 Rinaldi Michael Ruben 21 ITA ARUBA Racing - Ducati Ducati 1'41.836 1.070
11 Mahias Lucas 44 FRA Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Kawasaki 1'41.937 1.171
12 Öttl Philipp 5 GER Team GOELEVEN Ducati 1'42.028 1.262
13 Redding Scott 45 GBR BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team BMW 1'42.038 1.272
14 Baz Loris 76 FRA Bonovo Action BMW BMW 1'42.384 1.618
15 Nozane Kohta 3 JPN GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Yamaha 1'42.469 1.703
16 Laverty Eugene 50 IRE Bonovo Action BMW BMW 1'42.469 1.703
17 Bernardi Luca 29 ITA BARNI Spark Racing Team Ducati 1'42.473 1.707
18 Tamburini Roberto 2 ITA Yamaha MotoxRacing WorldSBK Team Yamaha 1'42.509 1.743
19 van der Mark Michael 60 NDL BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team BMW 1'42.916 2.150
20 Ponsson Christophe 23 FRA Team Gil Motor Sport Yamaha 1'43.005 2.239
21 Gutierrez Oscar 99 SPA TPR Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki 1'43.075 2.309
22 Konig Oliver 52 CZE ORELAC Racing VERDNATURA Kawasaki 1'43.182 2.416
23 Mercado Leandro 36 ARG MIE Racing HONDA Team Honda 1'44.128 3.362
WorldSBK 2022
Race Round 08   Catalunya

Results Race 1

Dry
Humidity
65%
Track Temp
32°C
Air Temp
22°C
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 Bautista Alvaro 19 SPA 25 ARUBA Racing - Ducati Ducati Time of Race 34'21.395
2 Rea Jonathan 65 GBR 20 Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Kawasaki 8.665
3 Gerloff Garrett 31 USA 16 GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Yamaha 9.289
4 Rinaldi Michael Ruben 21 ITA 13 ARUBA Racing - Ducati Ducati 10.783
5 Razgatlioglu Toprak 1 TUR 11 PATA YAMAHA with BRIXX WorldSBK Yamaha 13.568
6 Lecuona Iker 7 SPA 10 Team HRC Honda 13.655
7 Lowes Alex 22 GBR 9 Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Kawasaki 14.013
8 Bassani Axel 47 ITA 8 Motocorsa Racing Ducati 14.839
9 Locatelli Andrea 55 ITA 7 PATA YAMAHA with BRIXX WorldSBK Yamaha 29.775
10 Laverty Eugene 50 IRE 6 Bonovo Action BMW BMW 30.094
11 Baz Loris 76 FRA 5 Bonovo Action BMW BMW 30.390
12 Vierge Xavi 97 SPA 4 Team HRC Honda 31.755
13 Tamburini Roberto 2 ITA 3 Yamaha MotoxRacing WorldSBK Team Yamaha 33.055
14 Mahias Lucas 44 FRA 2 Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Kawasaki 35.962
15 Ponsson Christophe 23 FRA 1 Team Gil Motor Sport Yamaha 37.498
16 Nozane Kohta 3 JPN 0 GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Yamaha 45.108
17 Gutierrez Oscar 99 SPA 0 TPR Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki 46.958
18 Mercado Leandro 36 ARG 0 MIE Racing HONDA Team Honda 55.315
19 Konig Oliver 52 CZE 0 ORELAC Racing VERDNATURA Kawasaki 57.534
20 van der Mark Michael 60 NDL 0 BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team BMW 12 Laps
21 Redding Scott 45 GBR 0 BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team BMW 18 Laps
22 Bernardi Luca 29 ITA 0 BARNI Spark Racing Team Ducati 19 Laps
23 Öttl Philipp 5 GER 0 Team GOELEVEN Ducati
WorldSBK 2022

Rider standings

Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Constructor
1 Bautista Alvaro 19 SPA 357 ARUBA Racing - Ducati Ducati
2 Razgatlioglu Toprak 1 TUR 313 PATA YAMAHA with BRIXX WorldSBK Yamaha
3 Rea Jonathan 65 GBR 305 Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Kawasaki
4 Rinaldi Michael Ruben 21 ITA 180 ARUBA Racing - Ducati Ducati
5 Locatelli Andrea 55 ITA 173 PATA YAMAHA with BRIXX WorldSBK Yamaha
6 Bassani Alex 47 ITA 159 Motocorsa Racing Ducati
7 Lowes Alex 22 GBR 154 Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Kawasaki
8 Lecuona Iker 7 SPA 150 Team HRC Honda
9 Redding Scott 45 GBR 145 BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team BMW
10 Gerloff Garrett 31 USA 92 GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Yamaha
11 Vierge Xavi 97 SPA 86 Team HRC Honda
12 Baz Loris 76 FRA 80 Bonovo Action BMW BMW
13 Öttl Philipp 5 GER 53 Team GOELEVEN Ducati
14 Mahias Lucas 44 FRA 43 Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Kawasaki
15 Tamburini Roberto 2 ITA 28 Yamaha MotoxRacing WorldSBK Team Yamaha
16 Bernardi Luca 29 ITA 27 BARNI Spark Racing Team Ducati
17 Laverty Eugene 50 IRE 24 Bonovo Action BMW BMW
18 van der Mark Michael 60 NDL 15 BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team BMW
19 Nozane Kohta 3 JPN 13 GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Yamaha
20 Fores Xavi 15 SPA 12 Team GOELEVEN Ducati
21 Mykhalchyk Illia 37 UKR 10 BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team BMW
22 Ponsson Christophe 23 FRA 9 Team Gil Motor Sport Yamaha
23 Syahrin Hafizh 35 MAL 4 MIE Racing HONDA Team Honda
24 Haslam Leon 91 GBR 4 TPR Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki
25 Mackenzie Tarran 95 GBR 3 McAMS Yamaha Yamaha
26 Hickman Peter 10 GBR 2 FHO Racing BMW
27 Mercado Leandro 36 ARG 2 MIE Racing HONDA Team Honda
28 Vinales Isaac 32 SPA 0 Yamaha MotoxRacing WorldSBK Team Yamaha
29 Rabat Tito 53 SPA 0 Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Kawasaki
30 Marvin Fritz 17 GER 0 Yamaha MotoxRacing WorldSBK Team Yamaha
31 Ruiu Gabriele 16 ITA 0 B-Max Racing Team BMW
32 Konig Oliver 52 CZE 0 ORELAC Racing VERDNATURA Kawasaki
33 Vickers Ryan James 77 GBR 0 TPR Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki
34 Gutierrez Oscar 99 SPA 0 TPR Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki
35 Delbianco Alessandro 25 ITA 0 TPR Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki
36 Cresson Loris 84 BEL 0 TPR Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki
Location Information

Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya Carrer Mas Moreneta, 08160 Montmeló, Barcelona, Spain Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya

POLE POSITION Right
LENGHT 4.627 Km
CORNERS 14
RIGHT CORNERS 8
LEFT CORNERS 6

Records

Pole Record 1'39.489 (168,513 Km/h) T.Razgatlioglu (BMW M 1000 RR, 2024)
Race Record 1'40.955 (166,066 Km/h) N. Bulega (Ducati V4 R, 2024, SPRC)
All Time Record 1'39.489 (168,513 Km/h) T.Razgatlioglu (BMW M 1000 RR, 2024)
2024 Race 1 Winner T.Razgatlioglu (BMW M 1000 RR)
2024 Superpole Winner T.Razgatlioglu (BMW M 1000 RR)
2024 Race 2 Winner A. Bautista (Ducati V4 R)