The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain is gearing up to host round 2 of 2024 Superbike World Championship, set to take place on 22-24 March. Team HRC is already on site, its factory riders Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge excited about the prospect of competing on home turf.

The season opened late last month, with round 1 running at Phillip Island in Australia. It turned out to be a challenging weekend, with Lecuona sustaining a shoulder injury during the pre-race test that prevented him from competing in the races, and Vierge scoring a best result of tenth in Race 1.

As for the upcoming Barcelona event, the two Spanish nationals are keen to score strong results aboard the CBR1000RR-R in front of a home crowd. Last year’s event was positive overall, with Lecuona placing fourth in the 2023 Superpole race and sixth in Race 1, while Vierge crossed the line sixth in Race 2. The riders have also benefitted from a two-day test, held at the same Catalunya track just last week. This provided Lecuona with an opportunity to assess his fitness following on from his Australia injury, and both riders were able to continue general setup work with their respective technicians.

A regular fixture on the MotoGP calendar, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has only hosted WorldSBK events in recent years, since 2020. Inaugurated in 1991, the fast and flowing track measures 4.657 kilometres and is made up of fourteen corners, eight of which right-handers and six left.

Xavi Vierge

“I’m super happy to be heading into round 2, here at home! Riding in front of my home crowd always adds a special touch, and of course I love the track – it’s been the backdrop to some of the best moments in my career. After two intense days of testing last week, we’ve gathered a lot of data, which will be crucial for the team to prepare the best possible setup. This will allow us to hit the ground running and concentrate on our performance right from the start. Montmeló is normally a favorable track for our bike, and we need to exploit this to secure the best possible results.”

Iker Lecuona

“I really like the Montmeló track. I usually have good speed there and even secured pole position two years ago. Although we faced some challenges last year, we still managed to be competitive. This season, I expect a host of riders to be quick, with the overall level even higher than before. This makes the upcoming challenge more daunting, especially since I’m not yet 100% physically fit. After the injury, there was a whole month where I couldn’t train properly – in fact, I barely trained at all. During last week’s testing, I felt a bit fatigued. So, it remains to be seen if the race will be tougher than anticipated. I’m taking it one day at a time and not setting any expectations for the weekend, good or bad – we’ll just see how things unfold.”