Lecuona “turns weekend around” after “struggling a lot in the beginning”

The Team HRC rider has endured a nightmare 2023 season thus far, with last Sunday’s tenth place finish in Race 2 the only top ten in any of his last seven starts. 

Xavi Vierge has also struggled at times due to Honda’s lack of competitiveness, but for Lecuona, what was expected to be a big second-year jump has instead failed to materialise.

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In fact, Honda have been less competitive through the opening seven rounds of this season compared to the same stage in 2022. 

After securing his best result since Race 1 at Misano, Lecuona said: “In the end I’m happy with how we’ve ended the weekend, because after struggling a lot in the beginning and qualifying a way back on the grid, step-by-step we’ve been able to turn the weekend around. 

“For this, I want to say a big thank you to my team because they always had faith in me, just as I had faith that we’d be able to make a step forward with the bike. 

“Already in today’s Superpole Race, I felt better lap after lap and realised I had quicker pace and could at least make up some positions.

“In Race 2, the first laps were tough; it was not easy to overtake the riders ahead but once I was able to do that and move close to the group of riders fighting for tenth place, I managed to pass them too. 

“On the last lap Remy tried to pass me back, but I was feeling very strong and could defend my position. 

“Starting so far back meant it was impossible to do more but I’m happy to have finished in the top ten. 

“I’m happy to finally have one week to rest after seven consecutive weekends of racing and testing. So, I’ll exploit these few days as a little ‘holiday’.”

For teammate Vierge, Last Sunday proved to be a difficult day after finishing 19th in the Superpole Race and 14th in Race 2.

Vierge added: “It was another challenging day for us. I made a very good start in the Superpole race and was targeting the top nine but, lap by lap, I started to lose grip and on lap six I was forced to go straight to avoid hitting Remy, losing a lot of positions and every possibility at the same time. 

“In Race 2, I again made a good start and was up behind Petrucci but I again began to struggle with a lot of spin. 

“I did my best to hold my position, making the most of good feeling with the front but, like yesterday, once the front tyre dropped, I struggled so much that I couldn’t defend tenth place. 

“On the last lap I came into contact with Aegerter and lost two more positions. Let’s say that the first part of the race I could manage, while in the second half I was too slow. 

“Now we need to work with the team to understand why we suffered so much, especially in the second sector of the track, and then just keep working to prepare as best as possible for the next round.”