Honda has announced its plans for Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge

Team HRC on Tuesday unveiled its plans and expectations for the 2023 WorldSBK season with young Spanish riders Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge once again the starting duo.

The TeamHRC factory practically opened its pit doors to give the best possible CBR1000RR-R Fireblide battle in World Superbike.

The 2023 livery welcomes PT Astra Honda Motor to the list of official sponsors and the technical team is focused on what lies under the fairings in the short time between the end of the 2022 season and the imminent start of 2023 season at the Australian circuit of Phillip Island (February 24-26).

The Valencian Iker Lecuona highlighted that “we learned a lot last year and got some good results, like pole position in Barcelona and a podium finish in Assen, which we didn’t expect because it was the second race. It was definitely a very positive year overall, and it helped me understand many things, like how to manage the situation in each race and on each circuit, as well as the Pirelli tires, which were very difficult to understand at the beginning.”

“I plan to put everything I’ve learned into next year in 2022. During the winter the team and everyone at the Honda factory worked hard to give us a better bike. We still have two days of testing in Australia before the first race. , so we have time to understand the new material and find the best set-up to take advantage of it as much as we can. We started with two rounds that I couldn’t compete with last season, but I like both track, I feel good and I’m ready to give everything,” explained the former MotoGP.

For his part, Xavi Vierge told his story that “This is my second year in WorldSBK, so we will benefit from not starting from scratch. Now we know many tracks and we understand how the tires and electronics work, whereas last year everything was very difficult for Mine. 2022 was not an easy season, but we got some good results and showed our potential.”

“In Japan they are working hard so we have a lot of work to do and items to test over the winter. I’m really happy with how everything went and now we have to define our base setup for the season. The test was great, but it can’t compare to the race. Luckily we started early this year and there are no better places than Australia and Indonesia. I like those tracks especially Phillip Island. I went there for the first time when February is already summer so I’m looking forward to arriving and starting what should be an incredible season”, said the man from Castellbisbal.

Team manager and former WorldSBK rider, Leon Camier, stated that “2022 has been a good foundation year for our two young rookies and we have seen what they are both capable of and we are impressed with the way they quickly adapt to new circuits and different situations. Now that we have learned a lot, we can focus on the race performance since FP1”.

“The goal is to improve worldwide, both on the bike for the team, and working to go one step further in general terms. Our top speed has always been very good on the Fireblade, but we have to keep working to improve on everything aspect. When you bring a new spec of a certain component to improve in one area sometimes you find it sets you back in another area This is something that Honda in Japan has been working on and we are confident that this year we will deliver another step in the right direction. The prospect of going from where we were last season to wanting to win the title will be very difficult, but it is definitely our goal, and one that we will continue to strive for until we achieve it, ” said the Englishman.