Xavi Vierge makes “a good step” at Portimao WorldSBK test but Honda grip issues remain

Last weekend’s Portimao WorldSBK test offered a chance to the teams and riders in attendance to work on some of the issues that remained after a disrupted winter testing programme, and those which emerged at the opening round of the 2025 season in Phillip Island; but for Honda and Xavi Vierge the conclusion was that the Fireblade’s rear grip issues remain.

Vierge, who this year is contesting his fourth season of World Superbike with Honda, said that his intention going into the test was to find again what he described as “the positive feeling we had during preseason testing,” having been unable to break into the top-10 in Australia.

“We really needed this two-day test because, after a positive pre-season, we faced some difficulties during the opening round in Australia,” Vierge admitted.

“The goal here was to regain the positive feeling we had during preseason testing. Friday morning and Saturday afternoon were wet or mixed, which meant we had to modify our plan since we didn’t get the track time we expected.”

Vierge said that the setup of the CBR1000RR-R had to be adjusted for the cooler temperatures in Portimao, and that he focused on electronics to try to cure the bike’s lack of acceleration grip.

“We were able to test some of the most important aspects of the electronics and complete many laps with different setups to see how we can exploit our strong points,” he said

“We had to adjust the setup slightly, as temperatures were much lower here compared to Australia, but after a few runs, I started to feel better.

“We've made a good step in cooler conditions compared to last year, but it remains to be seen if we can achieve the same in the heat, where we struggle more: the braking and turning aren't too bad, but as soon as we open the throttle, we feel we’re lacking drive and acceleration.

“Hopefully, by continuing to work on the electronics, we can improve in that area.”

Vierge added that he felt better with race tyres than pushing for one lap on a softer compound.

“The feeling on the race tyre was good, but when I tried a soft one on Saturday, I couldn’t improve, another area where we need to work,” he said.

“Now, we need to analyze all the data we collected here and prepare the best base setup possible for the race weekend. Thanks to Honda for their continued efforts in improving, and a big thank you to the team for their hard work. Now, we look ahead to the next races.”