Oscar piastri

Listen to this article Less than a fortnight after Honda’s least competitive showing of the year at Magny-Cours, Lecuona showed signs of a return to form for the Japanese manufacturer by topping the times across the opening two practice sessions of the weekend. Most of the day’s fastest times were set in the morning session, with Lecuona himself setting his chart-setting top time towards the end of FP1. The Spaniard rider lapped his home track in 1m41.396s, ending the day more than half a second clear of Rinaldi’s Ducati and the Yamaha of reigning champion Toprak Razgatlioglu. Points leader Alvaro Bautista was quickest in the afternoon session, but his time was only good enough for fourth in the overall timesheets - six tenths down on Lecuona’s FP1 benchmark. Kawasaki star Jonathan Rea made a minor improvement between the two sessions to take fifth, with Andrea Locatelli finishing right behind him on the second of the two works Yamahas. Xavi Vierge rounded off a strong … [Read more...] about Barcelona WSBK: Lecuona tops Friday practice for Honda

Listen to this article Having set the pace in Friday practice on the factory Honda Fireblade, Lecuona was again the rider to beat in the 15-minute pole shootout on Saturday as he edged out Kawasaki duo Alex Lowes and Jonathan Rea to the top spot. With the track having dried out for the start of qualifying following rain showers overnight, the Spanish rider was immediately able to lower his FP1 benchmark of 1m41.396s by 0.066s. This put him 0.011s clear of the factory Kawasaki of Lowes and a full three tenths up on Toprak Razgatlioglu after the first runs, as Xavi Vierge occupied fourth run on the other works Honda. When the riders returned on track on fresh tyres for a final shot at pole position, it was Andrea Locatelli who made the biggest initial gains, dislodging Lecuona from the top with a 1m40.991s. But Lecuona immediately fought back, finding a whopping six tenths on his final flier to seal his maiden pole position with a time of 1m40.766s - and a first for Honda … [Read more...] about Barcelona WSBK: Lecuona scores Honda’s first pole in six years