Ads

In the absence of Iker Lecuona on the track, injured in training and temporarily replaced by Borja Gomez, Xavi Verge and test rider Tetsuta Nagashima officially represented Honda HRC during the two-day test World SBK Superbike on the Jerez circuit. Iker Lecuona was nevertheless present on site for the entire duration of the tests, in order to follow the action of the team in the garage.

Having not tested since last November, Team HRC took advantage of the days on Spanish soil to carry out a general burn-in of the CBR1000RR-Rs, providing the garage technicians with valuable feedback as the factory team prepares for the start of the 2025 racing season. Despite strong winds, conditions remained dry throughout Wednesday, with the team benefiting from some sunny spells and mild winter temperatures. Unfortunately, conditions were very different on Thursday, and with rain falling at times and making the track constantly damp, the team elected to cut the test short after completing half a day of work.

The factory driver Xavi Verge nevertheless completed over 100 laps over the two days, with the Spaniard optimising his track time in different conditions and looking to continue the same momentum in Portimão, where testing will continue on 28 and 29 January. It is expected thatIker Lecuona joins his teammate for the test sessions in Portugal.

Iker Lecuona : “At the beginning of January I had a small crash in training and unfortunately I suffered a fractured rib and a shoulder injury. Just before coming to Jerez the doctor told me that it was better to wait a little before riding and so I will not take part in this week’s tests, in agreement with the team. I am not in perfect shape but I feel good overall and I will try to ride next week in Portugal. I am doing my best to recover quickly, following the advice of the doctors, so we will see how it goes.”

The most striking novelty seen on the official CBR was the use of Öhlins suspensions, instead of the usual Showa used since 2022. Xavi Verge commented on the official said worldsbk.com : “Unfortunately for us it was raining today, but at the same time it was a good thing because we changed to Ohlins suspension, and I had never tried this suspension in wet conditions,” said Vierge. “It was good to do some laps, the feeling was quite positive, so I can say that these two days of testing were productive.”

The team manager, Jose Escamez, explained this change for the 2025 season: “It went pretty well. We quickly found the right way to continue. We worked to find a good base setup, and that will help the riders feel comfortable for the timed laps, and of course there are some differences with the previous suspension we were using. I’m just trying to understand, but there’s not much difference, though. There’s a little improvement in performance and also feedback from the riders. That’s reason enough to let them run with this one.”

More generally, number 97 was very satisfied with this first test after the winter break: “We are finally back on track and I am very happy with how this test went, it was very positive. The conditions remained dry on Wednesday, even if a bit windy, and my feeling with the bike was quite good from the beginning. I am working with a new team leader (Tetsuya Sasaki, ex-Suzuki and Idemitsu Honda Moto2) and my first impression is very good. He has a lot of experience and I think we can work well together. Regarding what we did here, we tried to find a new suspension setting and we also focused on the electronic side. Unfortunately, the rain reduced our track time on Thursday, but it allowed us to do some first laps in the rain with the Öhlins suspension and understand it better. We still have some work to do, but it should help us find more traction, which has been a weak point for us. Then we worked on different aspects to improve my general feeling. I think we've made good progress this week and we now have a lot of data to analyse. Next up is Portimao, where I hope we can have some fun with some drier weather as we continue to prepare for the start of the season."

Jerez Test Day 1

Jerez Test Day 2

 

Jerez Honda Test
Jerez Honda Test

All articles on Pilots: Xavi Virgo

All articles on Teams: Honda WSBK