“We understood where we can improve” - Vierge finds breakthrough at Misano test

The former Moto2 rider, who is currently 12 points clear of teammate Iker Lecuona in the WorldSBK standings, felt very differently to his fellow Spaniard after the test.

While Lecuona complained about a lack of confidence when braking, Vierge, who also had his challenges prior to finding improved performance, ended the test feeling as though a new swingarm from Honda helped unlock more potential. 

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Speaking about last week’s test, Vierge said: "On Thursday the weather wasn’t as bad as expected, luckily. We found a good feeling in the end, but it was a tricky first day. We struggled a little more than expected early on, without really understanding why. 

"But after making some changes to the bike for the afternoon session, things went better and my feeling improved, particularly once we tested a new swingarm. 

"I made many laps with a new set of tyres and was able to regain a strong pace, so I was pleased with that. On day two, we were not as lucky with the weather because we were only able to complete a few laps in the dry early on before the rain started. 

"In the afternoon we had a little more dry track time and could compare swingarm's specs. We didn’t have chance to make many laps, but we were able to collect solid data for the engineers to analyse. 

"I feel the work’s been constructive, especially in terms of the items we tested yesterday, so now we have two more weeks to work on the data we’ve collected and we will see when we come back here to Misano in just over two weeks’ time."

Leon Camier, team principal at the factory Honda outfit, also felt as though a step forward was made by Vierge at the Italian circuit.

But while it was a positive test for the Spaniard, making sure the improved performance carries on at other circuits will be key, according to Camier. 

The former WorldSBK rider with six different manufacturers said: "Overall, I think it’s been a productive test. On Xavi’s side, we understood some things and some new parts have helped him quite a lot. 

"I think we need to also understand this at other circuits. In the past, we’ve tested here and it’s very easy to understand something here, but this track has very high grip levels and this can confuse at other circuits which have low grip. 

"In general, our feeling is that we’ve made a step, we’ve understood where we can improve."