Lecuona "expected more" at Misano test, "not happy" despite trying Honda swingarms
Spanish rider Iker Lecuona tried two new Honda swingarms during the test but declared that he expected more during at Misano
The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship travelled east from Spain to Italy for a two-day test at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” with a chance to test several upgrades as teams and riders looked to make forward progress. One team to bring upgrades was Team HRC who brought two swingarms for riders Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge to test across the test, although rain on Day 2 limited their running. Vierge was speaking positively on Day 1 but teammate Lecuona was downbeat following the end of testing on Day 2.
Lecuona’s best time on Day 2 was a 1’35.198s, with times generally slower on Day 2 compared to Day 1, after completing 39 laps across the second day. Lecuona did not do any long stints during the day, with rain in the morning and afternoon impacting everyone’s testing programmes. Lecuona was exactly a tenth slower than Vierge at the end of Day 2, while Lecuona completed more laps than Vierge with the latter adding 34 to Honda’s tally on the second day.
Reflecting on the second day, Lecuona said: “It was quite difficult, honestly. In general, we struggled. We tried different items on the bike but with one it feels better, with another it’s so-so. Overall, honestly, I cannot be happy. The weather doesn’t help us to approve but even in wet conditions this morning, we had the chance to rider and I felt the same problem as always: that the rear wants to overtake me and I don’t have any confidence to release the brakes and to go in fast. I felt slow in the wet and usually I go fast. Still struggling in the wet, still struggling a little bit in the dry. We need to check the data. I’m not happy.”
One of the big upgrades was seen on the Team HRC CBR1000RR-R machines with two swingarms to try throughout the test. On Day 1, Lecuona was able to test both swingarms with only rain in the afternoon impacting running but he stuck to his base bike on Day 2 due to the weather conditions, with rain in the morning and afternoon interrupting running. However, Lecuona spoke about the new swingarms at the end of Day 2.
Giving his first thoughts on the swingarms, Lecuona said: “We’re looking to improve the lap time! We don’t know if it’s better for the corners or for stopping or whatever. We tried some different items, some different ways, to improve the lap time and the feeling with the bike, to see if we had more margin to improve. The situation right now is that, yesterday, I tried two different swingarms. Today, with the weather, I didn’t try anything; just my standard bike. Yesterday, I didn’t like one and I liked the other but, the one I like is just in a few areas. For example, it helped me in stopping but in a different area we lost a little bit. We need to check the data and understand if it’s better or not. I’m not happy. It’s true it’s a test to try these items but I expected more.”
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