As revealed by Motorsport.com at the beginning of September, Iker Lecuona and Xavier Vierge , who this season are competing in the MotoGP and Moto2 World Championships, respectively, will move to the series-derived motorcycle championship to defend the colors of Honda .
The announcement was made official this Tuesday, however the agreement with both riders was reached during the last Aragon Grand Prix , thus giving HRC a shift in its current approach to the SBK series.
Lecuona will leave the MotoGP World Championship at just 21 years old and after two seasons with Tech3 KTM (2020-2021) and four in Moto2, a championship he reached in 2016 to compete in six races that year, achieving two podiums in the intermediate category , one in 2018 and the last one in 2019.
For his part, Vierge , who is 24 years old, is in his seventh season in Moto2 , where he has garnered a total of four podium finishes, the last one this season when he finished third in the Catalunya Grand Prix .
Honda bets on two young riders with no experience in SBK after the formula of hiring experienced riders has not given the expected results.
After two seasons at Honda, Álvaro Bautista, 37, will return to the official Ducati WorldSBK team, where he already ran the 2019 season with great success, to replace Scott Redding, who will do so with BMW in 2022. For his part, the British Leon Haslam, 38 years old and with 16 seasons in the category since 2003, will also leave the team managed by HRC after two seasons without outstanding results.
(Click on this link or on the photo to see the riders who have won races in MotoGP and SBK)
