Vierge: Factory WorldSBK ride better than being in MotoGP to make up the numbers
New Team HRC WorldSBK rider Xavi Vierge could well have been preparing for his first MotoGP season had the formely known Petronas Yamaha Team not encountered sponsorship problems.
The Spaniard was name checked by former Petronas Yamaha (now the current WithU Yamaha RNF team owner) Razlan Razali as a potential MotoGP rider for 2022, however, that opportunity quickly evaporated when the team lost Petronas as a sponsor, while SRT (Sepang Racing Team) also announced they would not continue with their Moto2 and Moto3 project.
Vierge himself said there was a ‘good plan’ in place for him to be promoted, but once the sponsorship issues became apparent then a future not only away from MotoGP but also Moto2 was pretty evident.
That’s where his deal with Team HRC became a strong possibility especially as the team were looking for two young riders to replace the already confirmed-to-be-leaving Alvaro Bautista and Leon Haslam.
Recalling his near move to MotoGP, Vierge said: "Around the mid-season we had the possibility to jump on that team (Petronas Yamaha) with a really good plan for the future.
"But then, the time when they started to have problems with all of the sponsors changed completely the plan for the future.
"So with those problems we didn’t have the possibility to jump on that (bike) and we started to then have the opportunity to HRC.
"For me it was much better to join a factory team like Honda. We have a factory behind (us) that has the objective to give us everything they can to fight for wins and a title.
"So for me as a rider I like this much more than going with the objective of just going to the MotoGP grid and that be it. This for me is not good so I prefer to be a factory Honda rider."
After failing to sign Raul Fernandez and Toprak Razgatlioglu - the new WithU Yamaha RNF team’s top choices, the Razali-led team ultimately signed Darryn Binder from Moto3, a very surprising move that generated quite a lot of backlash from outspoken MotoGP rider Aleix Espargaro.
But even so, the move from Moto3 straight to MotoGP has been done before and not only that, it has been done in a very successful way by Jack Miller.
However, like Miller, Vierge believes Binder needs to be given time to adapt, which has sometimes not been given to young riders - new team-mate at Honda Iker Lecuona is a potential victim of this.
Regarding how Binder could fare in MotoGP Vierge added: "So in the past we have seen Jack [Miller] do it and now Jack is in a factory team fighting for victories and for the title.
"It’s true that they gave him a lot of time so we will see if they give the same time to Darryn [Binder] to adapt to the category.
"For sure he has many years (experience) fighting in Moto3 and achieved good results. Now we will see if he’s ready to adapt to MotoGP. We will also see which bike he gets as well, but I think the most important thing is if they give him time to adapt."
