Vierge and Honda HRC keep pushing to improve at Portimão Test

On track at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal on Friday 14 and Saturday 15 March, the Honda HRC team has completed a constructive two-day test with factory rider Xavi Vierge.

Iker Lecuona is currently on the road to recovery following an incident during the opening WorldSBK round in Australia, where he sustained a fracture to the fourth metatarsal bone in his left foot. In the meantime, Vierge was joined on track by Spanish rider Borja Gómez on Friday and British rider Tommy Bridewell on Saturday. Tetsuta Nagashima was also attending the test to support the factory team with its development work. Two weeks after the opening WorldSBK round in Australia, the factory squad used this test to prepare for the upcoming European rounds of the championship, not least round 2, which will be staged at this very track in less than two weeks’ time.

The test got underway on Friday morning, but few riders took to the track in the morning due to the damp conditions. Once Vierge and Gómez headed out in the afternoon, the pair did their best to maximise the track time, with Xavi completing 61 laps, Borja 51 and Tetsuta 62. For factory rider Vierge, the work focused largely on the electronics, with the team looking to improve the bike’s acceleration. Despite only using the race tyre, Xavi was pleased with the progress on day 1.

While Saturday morning brought dry, sunny conditions, intermittent rain affected the action from lunchtime, meaning that Vierge spent almost the entire afternoon in the garage, only heading out for the final 30 minutes. Nevertheless, the team was able to complete some productive work, with the riders and technicians continuing to focus primarily on race settings, testing various electronic solutions and carrying out comparison tests. Vierge completed another 48 laps over the course of the day, while Bridewell completed 25 and Nagashima 53.

The second WorldSBK championship round will take place at the same Portuguese track over the weekend of 28-30 March. It is still to be established whether Lecuona will be fit enough to rejoin team-mate Vierge for those races.