Lecuona has “never watched a race at Imola, I literally know nothing”

Iker Lecuona says learning a new track is ‘normally not that challenging for me’, although he also admitted he knows nothing about Imola, which plays host to round eight of the 2023 WorldSBK championship this weekend.

Robert Jones

12 Jul 2023

Iker Lecuona, Team HRC Honda WorldSBK Donington Park 2023

After being in MotoGP action at Assen last month, WorldSBK action at Donington Park and the testing for the Suzuka 8 hours, the Spaniard is going through a very busy period aboard Honda machinery.

Lecuona’s future at Team HRC appears to be up in the air at the moment, after struggling through the first half of this season.

That doesn’t mean the team doesn’t want to retain him as Leon Camier recently admitted that was the case, however, there have also been rumours linking him with LCR Honda in MotoGP.

But rumours around his future aside, Lecuona is excited to get back on-track this weekend after a tough Suzuka 8 hour test: "It’s a busy period right now, switching from one world to the other - from WorldSBK to MotoGP, the Suzuka 8 hours test and now straight on to a new track!

"But I’m enjoying myself and am looking forward to this new challenge. I know literally nothing about Imola.

"I’ve never been there and never watched a race there, but learning a new track is normally not that challenging for me, a track is a track!

"It will be really important to work well on the bike, quickly find the way in terms of setup and have a clear direction to follow throughout the weekend. I’m ready and waiting to kick off a new weekend."

Two places ahead of Lecuona in the championship, teammate Xavi Vierge will also be riding at the Italian for the first time in his career.

"Imola follows on from a weekend that had its ups and down, but our motivation is intact and we’re ready to work hard to get the best out of the next round," said Vierge.

"After Donington, we took part in two days of testing at Suzuka, two busy days where conditions constantly changed, but I really enjoyed it and feel it has given me an extra boost to fight hard to reach our goals.

"Imola is a new track for me of course, and I hope that it works for us as the Italian tracks generally do!

"As always when heading to a new track, I try to work a lot before I arrive, watching videos and trying to learn the circuit on a simulator, which, although on four wheels, is a really good way to check out the layout. So I think I’m as ready as I can be and now let’s see what we can do!"