The 2022 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship has landed in Indonesia for the Pirelli Indonesian Round at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit, but bad news has hit the Team HRC squad. Following a crash in FP2, Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) has been declared unfit for the remainder of the weekend, with the Valencian rider ruled out with a stable fracture of the T12 vertebrae and a fracture of the left side of the sacrum (located at the base of the lumbar vertebrae and that is connected to the pelvis). No neurological damage was found.

As track conditions offering more grip than it had in FP1, times immediately begun to tumble in FP2, with Lecuona in third when he highsided on the direction change between Turn 2 and Turn 3. Lecuona was taken to the Medical Centre for an initial medical assessment and was later airlifted to the RSUD Provinsi NTB Hospital in Mataram for further tests. Following CT and MRI scans, doctors have diagnosed a stable fracture of the T12 vertebra (with no neurological damage) as well as a fracture to the left side of the sacrum. With no need for stabilization surgery, Lecuona has already been discharged from the hospital and will now rest and begin conservative treatment.

Lecuona is a rookie in 2022 and has been enjoying a stellar season, with a highlight of a podium coming earlier on in the year during round two at Assen, in just his sixth race in WorldSBK. He’s been a consistent top ten performer and is eighth in the Championship – 17 points behind Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) and 17 ahead of Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team). Honda’s hopes for the remainder of the round now lie with Xavi Vierge (Team HRC), who was eighth on day one at Mandalika. Honda had brought a new item for the weekend as part of their super concession allocation, allowing them more parameters to work within for the geometry of the bike.

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