Work in progress for Team HRC at Misano
Team HRC is in action at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, competing in round five of the 2023 Superbike World Championship with riders Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge.
The factory riders made the most of the day’s free practice sessions, both of which ran in warm and sunny conditions. In FP1, both Lecuona and Vierge got off to a good start, working methodically with their technicians to make adjustments to their CBR1000RR-R machines. The first 45-minute session complete, Vierge had set a best of 1’34.919, with team-mate Lecuona closing just a fraction of a second behind, with a fastest time of 1’34.970, the pair looking consistent and well-placed heading into session two.
Later in the day and in hotter conditions, Team HRC was back on track for FP2. With respect to the morning’s session, and despite the hotter asphalt, Iker was quickly able to improve on his earlier reference, albeit by only a fraction of a second (1’34.932). Xavi also took a step forward in terms of flying lap time towards the end of the session, setting a best of a 1’34.833. The conditions prevented further big progress, but both riders nevertheless continued to prepare for tomorrow’s Superpole and first race. Iker suffered an innocuous crash at turn 14 a few minutes before the session’s end while pushing to improving on his lap time. With the first fourteen riders closing within a second of each other, Vierge placed twelfth in the combined standings at the end of day one and Lecuona fifteenth.
Xavi Vierge 97
“We expected the track temperature to be much hotter than it was when we tested here two weeks ago and this was in fact the case, but despite this the feeling with the bike has been good. We’ve focused mainly on our race pace and so our position today does not really reflect all the work we’ve done. So I can say that we’re quite happy. We need to make some more adjustments to our setup tomorrow, to try and make some more steps forward, but I think we are heading in a good direction. Tomorrow it will be very important to complete a strong FP3 to be prepared for qualifying.”
Iker Lecuona 7
“It was a demanding and very busy day in general, but I knew, after the test two weeks ago, that I needed to understand many things about my bike’s base setup here in Misano. This morning I was struggling, feeling as if up against a “wall”, so we changed the setup quite a bit for the second free practice session, going more in the direction of last year when I felt more comfortable and was able to push more. And I started to feel better in the first two exits of the afternoon. During my last exit, I actually also started to enjoy myself and feel comfortable with the bike. It’s true that I also had a very small crash, but I didn’t even break the fairing and it was ‘good’ in a way in order to be able to understand the limit. So I’d say I’m quite happy, not for the results of course but for the work done and the fact we’ve found a way for me to feel good on my bike again. We must continue in this way tomorrow.”
Free Practices Combined Results after FP2
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bautista Alvaro | 1 | SPA | ARUBA Racing - Ducati | Ducati | 1'33.825 |
| 2 | Razgatlioglu Toprak | 54 | TUR | PATA YAMAHA with BRIXX WorldSBK | Yamaha | 1'34.154 0.329 |
| 3 | Petrucci Danilo | 9 | ITA | BARNI Spark Racing Team | Ducati | 1'34.276 0.451 |
| 4 | Rinaldi Michael Ruben | 21 | ITA | ARUBA Racing - Ducati | Ducati | 1'34.283 0.458 |
| 5 | Lowes Alex | 22 | GBR | Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK | Kawasaki | 1'34.477 0.652 |
| 6 | Gerloff Garrett | 31 | USA | Bonovo Action BMW | BMW | 1'34.610 0.785 |
| 7 | Bassani Axel | 47 | ITA | Motocorsa Racing | Ducati | 1'34.699 0.874 |
| 8 | Aegerter Dominique | 77 | SWI | GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team | Yamaha | 1'34.706 0.881 |
| 9 | Rea Jonathan | 65 | GBR | Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK | Kawasaki | 1'34.713 0.888 |
| 10 | Locatelli Andrea | 55 | ITA | PATA YAMAHA with BRIXX WorldSBK | Yamaha | 1'34.730 0.905 |
| 11 | Redding Scott | 45 | GBR | ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team | BMW | 1'34.826 1.001 |
| 12 | Vierge Xavi | 97 | SPA | Team HRC | Honda | 1'34.833 1.008 |
| 13 | Sykes Tom | 66 | GBR | ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team | BMW | 1'34.867 1.042 |
| 14 | Öttl Philipp | 5 | GER | Team GOELEVEN | Ducati | 1'34.922 1.097 |
| 15 | Lecuona Iker | 7 | SPA | Team HRC | Honda | 1'34.932 1.107 |
| 16 | Baz Loris | 76 | FRA | Bonovo Action BMW | BMW | 1'35.134 1.309 |
| 17 | Gardner Remy | 87 | AUS | GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team | Yamaha | 1'35.232 1.407 |
| 18 | Ray Bradley | 28 | GBR | Yamaha MotoxRacing WorldSBK Team | Yamaha | 1'35.523 1.698 |
| 19 | Ruiu Gabriele | 16 | ITA | B-Max Racing Team | BMW | 1'35.547 1.722 |
| 20 | Baldassarri Lorenzo | 34 | ITA | GMT94 Yamaha | Yamaha | 1'36.035 2.210 |
| 21 | Rabat Tito | 53 | SPA | Kawasaki Puccetti Racing | Kawasaki | 1'36.485 2.660 |
| 22 | Syahrin Hafizh | 35 | MAL | PETRONAS MIE Racing HONDA Team | Honda | 1'36.584 2.759 |
| 23 | Vitali Luca | 70 | ITA | ORELAC Racing VERDNATURA | Kawasaki | 1'36.767 2.942 |
| 24 | Vinales Isaac | 32 | SPA | TPR by Vinales Racing | Kawasaki | 1'37.504 3.679 |
| 25 | Mizuno Ryo | 88 | JPN | PETRONAS MIE Racing HONDA Team | Honda | 1'37.513 3.688 |
Location Information
Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” Via Daijiro Kato, 10 47843 Misano Adriatico (RN) – Italy Misanocircuit.com
| POLE POSITION | RIGHT |
| LENGTH | 4.226 Km |
| CORNERS | 16 |
| RIGHT CORNERS | 10 |
| LEFT CORNERS | 6 |
Records
| Pole Record | 1'32.320 (164,792 Km/h) T. Razgatlioglu (BMW M 1000 RR, 2024) |
| Race Record (SPRC) | 1'32.687 (164,140 Km/h) T. Razgatlioglu (BMW M 1000 RR, 2024 SPRC) |
| All Time Record | 1'32.320 (164,792 Km/h) T. Razgatlioglu (BMW M 1000 RR, 2024) |
| 2024 Race 1 Winner | T. Razgatlioglu (BMW M 1000 RR) |
| 2024 Superpole Race Winner | T. Razgatlioglu (BMW M 1000 RR) |
| 2024 Race 2 Winner | T. Razgatlioglu (BMW M 1000 RR) |
