Earlier in the day, Honda HRC riders Lecuona and Vierge made the most of a final free practice, identifying solutions that allowed them both to improve on Friday’s performance. Vierge, in particular, shaved a solid eight tenths off his previous time as the team continued preparations for the first race of the weekend.
It was soon time for Superpole, the brief session serving to establish grid positions for the afternoon’s race. Both Lecuona and Vierge quickly set interesting lap times, within one tenth of each other (1’26.065 and 1’26.174). Having switched tyres mid-phase, Lecuona did well to put in a best of 1’25.861, while Vierge’s early reference remained his best. These results meant that the Honda HRC factory duo qualified thirteenth and nineteenth for the afternoon’s race, while Honda test rider Tommy Bridewell – competing as a wildcard at home round Donington – placed twentieth (1’26.248).
Race 1 ran over a distance of 23 laps in the early afternoon, with the SBK field again finding warm, sunny conditions. Vierge made an excellent start, progressing from nineteenth to thirteenth through the first corners. Up into eleventh just a couple of laps later, the Spaniard worked hard as part of the chasing group. Up into eleventh just a few laps in, the Spaniard pushed hard to break into the top ten by lap sixteen but ultimately missed out through the final turns. Still, he crossed the line in a solid eleventh place — a promising result ahead of Sunday’s races, especially given the challenges of this round.
After losing ground off the line to avoid getting caught up in a group crash soon after the start, Lecuona found himself down in seventeenth at the end of lap one. The Honda HRC rider reacted quickly, making up two positions over the next couple of laps. Unfortunately, a technical issue forced him to retire from the race on lap eight, cutting short any further progress.
Test rider Bridewell also suffered a crash on lap six while holding a positive 13th position, which prevented him from finishing Race 1.
Xavi Vierge
97
Honda HRC
It has been a demanding weekend so far, but we’ve tried to react as strongly as possible. In FP3 we made a step forward compared to yesterday. Then in qualifying, I struggled with the second tyre. We’re forced to try and make up time on braking, and today I made a mistake on my fast lap and couldn’t complete it properly. Here, everything is super tight, so that meant starting from 19th. A shame of course, but we stayed focused and worked well as a team. We improved the bike setup a little and I got a good start, which allowed me to stay in the group fighting for the top ten— not something to take for granted at this track, where there are not many places to recover time. I could only really gain through the last three corners, so basically, I spent the whole race defending myself around the rest of the lap and then trying to make up time in those final turns. Even so, I was fighting for the top ten until the very last lap, when, with the tyres basically gone, I couldn’t fend off Iannone. Anyway, I think we need to take the positives. Now we need to see if we can find something in the drive area, because even a small improvement there could make a big difference for tomorrow’s races.
It has been a demanding weekend so far, but we’ve tried to react as strongly as possible. In FP3 we made a step forward compared to yesterday. Then in qualifying, I struggled with the second tyre. We’re forced to try and make up time on braking, and today I made a mistake on my fast lap and couldn’t complete it properly. Here, everything is super tight, so that meant starting from 19th. A shame of course, but we stayed focused and worked well as a team. We improved the bike setup a little and I got a good start, which allowed me to stay in the group fighting for the top ten— not something to take for granted at this track, where there are not many places to recover time. I could only really gain through the last three corners, so basically, I spent the whole race defending myself around the rest of the lap and then trying to make up time in those final turns. Even so, I was fighting for the top ten until the very last lap, when, with the tyres basically gone, I couldn’t fend off Iannone. Anyway, I think we need to take the positives. Now we need to see if we can find something in the drive area, because even a small improvement there could make a big difference for tomorrow’s races.
Iker Lecuona
7
Honda HRC
Not really a good day, in the end… Qualifying was okay, but it wasn’t my best or ideal lap time because I made two or three mistakes on my best lap. I could have been a bit further forward, but it was the first time we ducked under ‘26 with this bike. We’ve been struggling this weekend, but in the end we managed to set a good lap time completely on our own, so that was positive. So I felt a bit more comfortable and confident for the race. I made an okay start, but in the first corner I ran wide because I started from the left side of the grid and there was a massive crash just in front of me — I had to brake hard to avoid hitting Sam (Lowes), I think it was, or maybe another Ducati. I found myself almost last, but managed to recover a few positions in the first sector. Then I passed Rinaldi, and later caught Bassani. We were trying to catch the group ahead when I had an issue with the bike. Honestly, I don’t know what happened, it just stopped. Just bad luck today. Now we need to see what the problem was. The feeling wasn’t so bad, actually. As for the tyres, I went with the SC2 front and SC0 rear. It’s true the SC0 doesn’t offer much grip, but we need to compare with the riders who used the SC1 and check their pace at the end of the race, then decide for tomorrow.
Not really a good day, in the end… Qualifying was okay, but it wasn’t my best or ideal lap time because I made two or three mistakes on my best lap. I could have been a bit further forward, but it was the first time we ducked under ‘26 with this bike. We’ve been struggling this weekend, but in the end we managed to set a good lap time completely on our own, so that was positive. So I felt a bit more comfortable and confident for the race. I made an okay start, but in the first corner I ran wide because I started from the left side of the grid and there was a massive crash just in front of me — I had to brake hard to avoid hitting Sam (Lowes), I think it was, or maybe another Ducati. I found myself almost last, but managed to recover a few positions in the first sector. Then I passed Rinaldi, and later caught Bassani. We were trying to catch the group ahead when I had an issue with the bike. Honestly, I don’t know what happened, it just stopped. Just bad luck today. Now we need to see what the problem was. The feeling wasn’t so bad, actually. As for the tyres, I went with the SC2 front and SC0 rear. It’s true the SC0 doesn’t offer much grip, but we need to compare with the riders who used the SC1 and check their pace at the end of the race, then decide for tomorrow.