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With just under two weeks to go before the start of the new World Superbike season, the time has come for Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge to unveil, in a virtual presentation, the livery that the Honda HRC team will be sporting for 2025.
Now, in their fourth year in the premier class with the Tokyo-based manufacturer, the two Spanish riders, along with Team Manager Jose Manuel Escamez, unveiled the CBR1000RR-Rs this morning and also the objectives with which they will present themselves at the starting line of the championship that will be kicking off from Phillip Island on the weekend of February 21st-23rd.
Although the livery color scheme has remained largely unchanged from last season's - with the traditional HRC red dominating the scene, accompanied by white and blue - what stands out is the appearance on Honda's fairing of the Ixon and Öhlins logos, respectively the team's new sponsor and new technical partner.
But the suspension produced by the Swedish company isn't the only improvement Honda engineers have made to the CBR1000RR-R before the upcoming season. The Japanese have been working over the winter to update the bike's set-up and electronics, in order to consolidate the progress they made in 2024, and continue to pursue the best possible results on the track.
"We've learned a lot in these past three years, but I think the most important thing has been understanding that it's better to work methodically and take concrete steps rather than wanting to go too fast and lose our way. The first goal is to start the 2025 season at least at the same level as last season. We found a solid base and, towards the end of the year, we struggled close to the top guys. So, the goal is to complete a solid pre-season and start the season already being close to the fastest guys, and then go from there to take the final step," Vierge commented. He'll also be helping a new chief technician this year. "My team is a little different this season, but my initial impressions are positive. My new team leader has a lot of experience, and I'll try to learn from him and hopefully make good progress. This year we will switch to Öhlins suspension, so we will have to learn how to handle it and find a new base. Then we have to exploit our strengths and focus on riding and acceleration, which we consider our weaker areas. If we can improve these aspects, we can better exploit the potential of the engine, which we know is high. For me to win a race would be a dream, especially considering all the hard work we have put in over the last three seasons. I think we deserved much more than we got. So a win would more than repay our hard work and give us extra motivation to continue. We are pushing so hard to get there."
Despite coming back from a minor injury, Lecuona also looks forward to the start of the season.
"Last year, I got unlucky with an injury in Jerez, then I suffered another small injury at the beginning of this year, so I'm coming from a long period of injuries. But I think I can be one-hundred percent ready for Australia, or at least ninety-five percent: I'll be ready to fight, that's for sure!" - the Spanish rider said, talking about his expectations for 2025. "Last year, I learned that maybe it's not the case to start with particular expectations. For now, the plan is to get on the bike, complete testing immediately before the Australian race weekend, then tackle the weekend, session by session. I really like the Phillip Island track but, in the past, I haven't had much luck. The plan is to get there with a good base and in good shape, mentally and physically, and be ready for anything. From a mental point of view, it is very important for me to start strong. Last year I struggled mentally and of course also physically, but if you are strong mentally I think you can be strong physically even with injuries. If, on the other hand, the mental strength drops, it's tough. So it is extremely important for me to start this year on the right foot. The beginning of last year was difficult, I had a new bike, a new team leader, and I was also injured... Then in the summer we tried to reset, putting the start of the season behind us and applying the old base to the new bike and that's how things started to work. My chief engineer and I worked a lot together and we improved a lot. From summer to the end of the year we took important steps, which helped us both mentally and physically. The results started coming in and to be on the podium was fantastic and a great result! The goal is to continue like that this year."
In his second year as Honda HRC Team Manager, Escamez on the challenges faced so far and Honda's commitment to return to the top of the World Championship.
"From a professional point of view, it is always enriching to take on a new challenge like this project and I really appreciate the opportunity to grow. From a personal point of view, it has been very challenging. Whenever you embark on something for the first time, you have to pay extra attention and put in extra effort to ensure everything is in place. To be honest, World Superbike is more challenging than I expected. It's not easy to adapt everything in a championship where there are strict rules and you have to be very careful about which things you can and cannot do. The biggest challenge, not only for me but for all the teams, is to win! As always, we have high expectations: our challenge is to return to the podium and win," he underlined.
"We have had a logistical base in Europe since the beginning of this project and this year we will increase our collaboration with Honda Europe, which will be more involved in our test team and the development of the bike. We are putting in extra effort with the aim of speeding up our work and the way we reach our goals," continued the Team Manager. "How did we manage to grow and be more consistent in the second half of the 2024 season? By working hard! That's the only way. It is true that we started 2024 with a different bike and it took longer than expected to get where we wanted to be, but we found the right direction and, from mid-season onwards, the results finally arrived. Later than we wanted, but the important thing is that we now know where we are going. So we will continue in the same way in 2025. We have the knowledge gained last season and the confidence that we can be faster than before. We have several ideas as to things that might benefit the bike, but for now we will keep working and prioritise improving our weak areas."
