During last week’s MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship test at Cremona, Italy, most of the teams in the WorldSBK paddock took the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the new surroundings of the Cremona track. Honda Racing Corporation (HRC), however, took the opportunity to test some new technology; namely, a new swingarm.

At the start of the 2023 season, Team HRC started out with a classic style, underslung racing swingarm. Then, during last season, the team introduced a more stock-style overslung swingarm. Interestingly, Vierge appeared to prefer the newer swingarm, whilst his teammate Lecuona preferred the more conventional, underslung swingarm.

That brings us to this Cremona test. HRC appear to have brought a newer swingarm which is unbraced, compared to the other, previous swingarms which are braced. Both riders have had slightly different reactions to this new swingarm. The swingarm tested was the same as the one used by Honda’s British Superbike team – who were also there with Tommy Bridewell and Andrew Irwin.

When asked about the new swingarm, Lecuona said: “Honestly, similar. We need to check the data. Now we need to learn what is positive, what is negative; what works and what does not.” Regardless, the #7 was positive about the test overall, as well as the general direction of Honda’s development: “Yes, yes 100%. During the tests here, we have had several more Japanese engineers. But this is the most productive test we’ve had, and we’ve learned a lot. We are happy with the job, and we need another two days at Misano. So, let’s see in if we can keep that positive and interesting form for us.”

Contrastingly, teammate Vierge was extremely positive about the new developments from the Japanese manufacturer. Speaking about his experiences with the new swingarm, Vierge said: “One of the most positive tests with Honda…if we analyze it well, we can take a big step!” Speaking about the new swingarm, Vierge said: “Yes, I tried the new swingarm, but not enough time unfortunately! The feeling was really good, and we also tried many different things with some big changes.” You can watch the #97 rider’s full reaction to the Cremona test here!

Make sure to follow all the action from this 2024 season here on the WorldSBK VideoPass!