The Honda factory team in the World Superbike Championship experiences a disappointing weekend at Donington: Yamaha, Kawasaki, Ducati and BMW were stronger
Yamaha factory rider Toprak Razgatlioglu celebrated three race wins at the World Superbike Championship at Donington to take maximum points. Kawasaki, Ducati and BMW also made it into the top 3 and were thus within striking distance. Honda, on the other hand, struggled with problems in Donington and was only fifth. The podium was out of reach for Iker Lecuona and teammate Xavi Vierge.
Lecuona knew the circuit from a private test. But with eighth place in race one, seventh in the sprint race and tenth in the second main race, the rookie experienced his most difficult weekend so far since switching from MotoGP to the World Superbike Championship. Arm pump problems prevented better results, according to Lecuona.
“In warm-up I felt good on used tyres, so I knew we had the potential so we could fight for a top five finish,” Lecuona reported. “In the Superpole race, my start was not the perfect one. Then I lost a lot of time in a long battle with Locatelli. “
“When I finally overtook him, a gap had opened up between me and the guys in front of me. I finished seventh, which all in all is not a bad result and was still good for the grid for the second race,” the Spaniard reported. “Also, I was able to get my arm pump problem under control over the short race distance. “
Arm pump problems set Iker Lecuona back
“Unfortunately, the same could not be said of the second race, when I was struggling physically. Lack of strength and pain in my right arm made the situation quite difficult. Already after five laps I felt a first drop in my physical performance,” admits Lecuona.
“So the second race was tough, but we still managed to finish in the top 10. That’s not bad considering we’ve had a consistent season. But at the same time, it’s frustrating because the result doesn’t reflect the potential of the bike here,” Lecuona fretted.
“Tenth place wouldn’t have been our position if I hadn’t had this problem,” Lecuona is convinced. “Still, a big thank you to the team because not only do they work very hard, but they also support me in every way this weekend. Leon (Camier) has brought in a physio to try and help me with my arm. So thanks to everyone in the team and now we rest up before the next round. “
Xavi Vierge collects a meagre six World Championship points
Team-mate Xavi Vierge experienced an even more difficult weekend after his injury comeback. The former Moto2 rider finished both main races in 13th place and only finished 15th in the sprint race after an incident with wildcard starter Tarran Mackenzie
“This weekend was tough for us, tougher than we expected,” admits the Spaniard. “We hadn’t exactly imagined an easy weekend, considering I was returning from injury, surgery and a four-week break, and that this is a completely new track. But we were honestly hoping for more.”
“If we focus on the positives, as we always try to do, we can say that we improved a lot over the course of the weekend. In the last race we closed the gap to the top compared to the beginning,” Vierge notes.
But more than 13th place was not possible in race two either. “We didn’t expect to fight for these positions, but it is what it is. At least we gathered a lot of information and got the maximum out of this weekend. I thank the team for their effort. Now we look ahead to the next race,” said Vierge.
