Unfulfilled potential for Team HRC in race 1 at Portimão

Team HRC factory riders Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge finished twelfth and thirteenth respectively in Race 1 at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, the stage for the seventh round of the 2024 Superbike World Championship. The result fell short of expectations for both riders, especially after their strong performance in the free practice sessions. Iker faced a very difficult qualifying session, while Xavi struggled with a lack of front feeling during the race.

Saturday morning saw the third and final free practice session, during which the team and riders focused on making final adjustments to the setup of their CBR1000RR-R machines ahead of the Superpole session. Both Lecuona and Vierge delivered strong performances, improving on their best times from yesterday and placing sixth and eleventh in the combined free practice standings. Iker finished just 0.445 seconds from the front and Xavi only 0.659 seconds off, consistent with their positive results in the previous sessions.

Both were back on track at 2.45pm for the 15-minute Superpole session. After pitting mid-session to change his tyre, Xavi set his fastest time in the final minutes, with a 1’40.592 lap positioning him a solid thirteenth on the grid for Race 1. Based on his performance in practice, Lecuona clearly had the potential to qualify in the top ten, but an off-track excursion during his first run and a crash during his second attempt prevented the Spaniard from setting even one single fast lap. Iker therefore placed twenty-third, meaning a back-row start for Race 1.

In a change to the usual schedule, the 20-lap Superbike races at Portimão are taking place at 6pm local time. Lining up on the fifth row of the grid, Xavi got away well when the lights went out, placing tenth through lap one. Part of a large group of riders, the Spaniard could not quite match the pace of those around him early on and slipped to twelfth. Although his pace picked up slightly through the central phase of the race, Vierge was unable to improve on his position. Battling with Rea and teammate Iker over the course of the final few laps, Xavi was the thirteenth rider to cross the line today, earning himself three championship points with this result.

Lecuona made a rapid start from the back of the grid and was up into eighteenth by the end of lap 1. Lapping with stronger pace than the group of riders ahead, Iker kept his cool and continued to make progress, moving into the points zone already in the early stages. Still defending fifteenth at the mid race point, the Team HRC rider pushed on, determined to collect as many points as possible considering his starting position. Closing in on team-mate Xavi in the final laps, Iker was able to pass him and secure P12. Not a bad result all things considered but not the outcome the rider was hoping for after his positive showing in the practices.