The Superbike World Championship started last weekend at Phillip Island and someone who was not satisfied was Xavi Vierge. With a 10th place in race 1 and a 13th in race 2, the Honda rider wants more.
After Sunday’s race, the Team HRC rider did not hide his dissatisfaction: ‘We cannot be happy, of course, but this is our reality at the moment. As a team, we worked well during the test sessions and the race weekend. As I mentioned before, the feeling on the bike is not bad; I like riding it. But we are not as fast as the others.’
Vierge then addresses some of the problems he is facing: ‘We continue to have a lot of difficulties in the corners and turns, which makes fighting with other riders incredibly difficult because we constantly have to make up ground on braking. My pace is not too bad when I’m alone, but when I have to fight with others, I struggle because in a battle it is difficult to maintain perfect lines. And riding like that puts a lot of pressure on the tires.’
The Spaniard also stated that the level is increasing every season and that details are important and make a difference: ‘Every year, the level of the championship increases and even small details can make a significant difference in terms of performance and results. That being said, we are aware of the situation and we know that we have to keep working and try to find a solution, possibly in the short term.’
