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The second day of testing at the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship came to a conclusion on Saturday evening with Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) putting his CBR1000RR-R machine inside the top three on a rain-affected day. Lecuona’s best time was a 1’41.033s to slot into third place behind reigning Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) and Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati).

Lecuona completed 56 laps on the second day of testing as he claimed third position on the timesheets at the end of the day, set before the rain fell in the early afternoon in Catalunya. His best time, just shy of hitting the 1’40s bracket, was less than a tenth slower than Bautista’s time on the Panigale V4 R and half-a-second down on Razgatlioglu’s pacesetting effort on his YZF-R1 machine.

Reacting to the test, Lecuona said: “It was very positive, for sure. I finished third in the morning in dry conditions. Day by day I feel better with the bike, more comfortable. I can ride with my style. In general, I am very happy in dry conditions. In wet conditions, it was a bit more difficult as it was my first time riding with the Pirelli tyres, the bike and also the team’s first time riding with Showa suspension in the wet. We need to work harder, for sure. We are happy. It’s special to finish in third with everybody on track. We showed the speed and the level to fight for a top position. When I arrive in Aragon, we will see what happens. For sure, it will change a little bit the position, but the important thing is we can go fast and it’s very important for me and the team.”

Team HRC’s Team Manager, Leon Camier, also reacted to the test after the strong showing, with both riders finishing inside the top eight. Xavi Vierge was in eighth place at the end of day two but suffered a crash at Turn 12 in the wet conditions which ended his day early. The Spanish rider was checked over at the medical centre before being transferred to hospital for further analysis on a rib injury, with Vierge conscious.

Discussing the positive test and Vierge’s injury, Camier said: “It’s been very productive for us. We were just finalising the package that we have, that we’ve done all the work in the previous off-season. Things have gone well. We need to keep working, keep making a step. It’s been good because it’s been our first time against the other competition, so we understand where we are. Step by step, we can refine what we have a little bit more and keep progressing but it’s always good for the riders to understand where we are and where they can make some improvements with their riding and where we can still improve the setting. The first time on track with the opposition, you have more of a reference to where exactly we are. We learnt a lot from it and try to make some improvements before the first race.

Regarding Vierge, Camier explained: “We’re still checking at the minute, to be honest. We can see from the data it was an entry highside into Turn 12. Obviously, it was wet conditions but it was important for us to get out on track and understand the bike in these conditions. Obviously, the riders have no experience with Pirelli tyres, or us with Showa suspension in these conditions so it was important to get some laps. It was an unfortunate mistake. It’s his first crash so far with all the laps we’ve done in testing. Unfortunate for him as he’s been riding really well.”

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