Lecuona, Vierge seeking to confirm Honda progress at ‘incredible’ Donington Park

Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge will get the chance to test Honda’s recent progress at the British WorldSBK round this weekend.

A track that has previously been difficult for the two Spaniards, Donington Park will be a true test as to whether the recent improvements are genuine.

Donington is an incredible track, and I look forward to racing there again,” said Vierge. “It's true that we’ve never had the best results, but if anything, that gives me even more motivation to do well this year.

“We’ve just completed a few test sessions where we were able to try many items and where the team did an amazing job to identify the best base setup.

“So, let’s see how we start the weekend, and hopefully we’ll be able to start closing the gap to the guys ahead.”

For Lecuona, top ten finishes have been hard to come by in 2024, with Misano the only round this season where he’s achieved that.

But hoping to use Donington as a turning curve, Lecuona added: “Donington is both a very special track that I like, but also a very tricky one for us.

“Together with Most and Magny-Cours, it is one of the tracks where we’ve really struggled in the past, either due to the grip, the changes of direction, the stopping, or the shifting.

“But I think we’ve done a good job lately, so now we have a chance to see to what extent we’ve actually improved and really assess our level.

“We’ll see if the weather gives us time to work on the bike setup but, if we are able to confirm the improvement at Donington, it means we are heading in the right direction.”