Lecuona and Virginie are saddened by the way the Superbike weekend went in France. The HRC team did not achieve the expected results.
About Matteo Bellan de Motoracing
The Magny-Cours Superbike round was certainly disappointing for Honda, who were expecting much more results in France. Iker Lecuona has certainly always scored points in each round, but with rankings which certainly do not rejoice him. For his part, Xavi Verge experienced a bankrupt weekend.
The former MotoGP rider finished tenth in Race 1, eleventh in the Superpole Race and ninth in Race 2. In the first round, he finished 21″ 5 behind the winner Alvaro Bautista, while in the second the gap was reduced 18″3 compared to Toprak Razgatlioglu. The teammate finished thirteenth on Saturday then crashed in both races on Sunday. A weekend to forget.
lecuona after the weekend in France tried to explain what was wrong with Honda : " a very difficult weekend for several reasons. It was a new track and on Friday, due to bad weather, we struggled with the setup. We missed something in various aspects and we could not improve. In the Superpole Race I had a bad start, but I felt strong and recovered to tenth place before the rear tire failed with two laps to go ».
The team's former driver KTM Tech3 MotoGP highlighted that it was the first time he raced at Magny-Cours and that may have been a deciding factor, also because on Friday he did a lap in the wet and it was only at From Saturday he was able to work in the dry. It was not easy to find the right configuration in a short time.
Lecuona: “ you have to learn, understand and come back stronger during the next race »
lecuona wants to understand with the HRC team why the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP was not at the level of the best bikes and aims to be stronger in Montmelò: “ In Race 2, I started better and pushed to gain positions, but once again something happened and I almost lost the front. I managed to make a rescue. I tried until the last corner to catch Locatelli, Gerloff and Baz but I couldn't. You have to learn, understand what happened this weekend and come back stronger in the next race ».
To Xavi Verge It was much worse at Magny-Cours, with only one placement in the points and two retirements: “ a weekend of ups and downs - did he declare - because we showed a certain speed but we didn't know how to make the most of it. We had a good pace on Saturday, but we didn't keep it until the end. In Superpole Race I made a good comeback, then I made a braking error and I fell ».
The Spaniard hoped to redeem the Superpole Race fall in Race 2, but he fell again: “ I didn't start well and lost further ground when van der Mark fell in front of me. In an attempt to push hard to get back up, I crashed again. I can only apologize to the team for both errors, I gave 100% in every round and I will continue to give my best ».
The HRC team will try to catch up on the weekend of September 23 to 25, when the Superbike World Championship stops in Catalonia. A test recently took place there and each team will be able to use the information collected to obtain a good result. It is a track that lecuona et Virgin have known since the World Championship days, so they should have fewer problems.
