Camier: First impression of Lecuona, Vierge super impressive
Team HRC have ended the Jerez test after just one day following an impressive showing from WorldSBK rookies Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge.
Vierge was second quickest during Wednesday’s opening day - KRT rider Alex Lowes was fastest by just -0.024s - while Vierge’s team-mate and former MotoGP rider Lecuona was a further +0.154s off.
The scheduled two-day test was turned into a one-day outing by the Japanese manufacturer who preferred to save one of their ten allocated test days for later in the season.
With that said, Camier expects both riders to complete another five days testing ahead of April’s season opener at MotorLand Aragon (8-10), which will leave them with four for the remainder of the year.
"We still have a few things to clarify about what will be our 2022 bike," Camier told the official World Superbike website. "We will have at least another five days on track before we start the season.
"We’re looking to clarify some options which will come a bit later on in the next test. After this, we should have confirmation about the bike that will be, and the riders will have more time on the bike to adjust and to understand everything."
Regarding the team’s new riders and how they are getting on, Vierge has had an extra half day of track-time due to Lecuona missing part of last month’s test because of a left hand injury.
However, both riders have adapted quickly to Superbike machinery, leaving Camier ‘very positive’ about the 2022 season.
The former WorldSBK rider continued: "My first impression of both riders has been very, very positive. Both are quite different riders in their approach to everything, but both are super-fast straight away.
"Iker’s obviously come from MotoGP and he understands the electronics and how to set up a bike with electronics, what he’s looking for. Xavi doesn’t have experience with this but his adaptation to the bike and understanding what he wants is super impressive.
"There’s a lot for them to learn. They need to understand a lot more about the bike and need some time to understand how to get the most out of it. So far, I’m really impressed."
