LCR Honda hail De Puniet consistency

Randy de Puniet set himself up for a promising home race at Le Mans with a fantastic fourth in Jerez on Sunday, following on from a qualifying session in which he placed fifth on the grid. The Frenchman was delighted with the result, which also brought a big smile to the face of his LCR Honda Team Principal, Lucio Cecchinello.

“We’re very happy with Randy’s consistency at the moment. He’s really starting to discover the potential of this new bike,” said the Italian of his MotoGP rider, who had hailed the satellite Honda as “the best bike that I have ever ridden.”

“He didn’t have much practice with the machine over the winter, and the tyres are new for us, so step-by-step we are finding out what the best setting is for Randy.”

Cecchinello had set a preseason target of finishing races rather than places like those of Sunday, and was ecstatic with De Puniet’s exceeding of expectations.

“We had some good practice sessions here, and we all know that Randy has been able to do one very fast lap at times. However, we’ve been working on his consistency, and now he is starting to realize the kind of pace that he can really achieve.”