Endurance: Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge to race in Suzuka 8 Hours

Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge will race at the Suzuka 8 Hours for HRC.

Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge will race at the Suzuka 8 Hours at the start of August for the penultimate race of the season. They will join Takumi Takahashi at the legendary Suzuka circuit to race for Team HRC. 

Xavi Vierge will enter his first-ever Suzuka 8 Hours race and is looking forward to this challenge with Team HRC. Lecuona is no stranger to endurance racing, racing in the 2022 running of the event. 

Iker Lecuona, Takumi Takahashi, and Tetsuta Nagashima won the race in 2022, racing for Team HRC. They finished ahead of the official Kawasaki Racing Team, who will not participate in this year’s race.

Xavi Vierge recently took part in a test at Suzuka for Team HRC, gaining experience riding on the iconic circuit on an EWC bike. He rode with Tarran Mackenzie who replaced the injured Lecuona at the test.

They will race with Takumi Takahashi who races in the Japanese Superbike championship racing for the T.Pro.Innovation team. His teammate in the Japanese Superbike championship is Yuki Takahashi.

So far Vierge and Lecuona has had a solid start to their 2023 WorldSBK campaigns, racing for HRC. Vierge is currently eighth in the championship standings, with a best finish of third position. Lecuona has had a busy season, replacing the injured Joan Mir in MotoGP and 11^th in the WorldSBK standings.

Discussing his return to the iconic race, Lecuona said: “I’m very happy to be able to fight in Suzuka 8 Hours as Team HRC again this year. I was able to win last year, but I understood that it was not an easy race. 

“This year, my teammates will be Takumi Takahashi and Xavi Vierge, and I’m looking forward to running with them now. We will do our best with the team and staff and aim for the top of the podium.”

Vierge added: “This time, I will participate in Suzuka 8 Hours for the first time from Team HRC. I am very happy to be able to participate as a rider on the same stage where many riders have made history so far. 

“Iker Lecuona is also a teammate in WorldSBK, and Takumi Takahashi is a great rider with a lot of past race experience. I believe that if the three riders work together, we can win the race.”