WSBK – WSBK Guide 2013 – Honda: finally the Dream Team? – WSBK 2013: presentation of the Honda team

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Guide WSBK 2013 – Honda: finally the Dream Team ?

WSBK - WSBK Guide 2013 - Honda: finally the Dream Team? - WSBK 2013: presentation of the Honda team

Honda has not won a Superbike driver’s title for five years and has dreamed of being a constructor for more than fifteen! The winged brand intends to put an end to this dearth in 2013, thanks to its two British pilots: Rea – of course – and Haslam…

WSBK 2013: presentation of the Honda team

The dream has always been one of the main components of Honda: "for Soichiro Honda, founder of the brand, dreams are the engines of action", repeat the Tokyo Reds. But the Honda Ten Kate team has only one thing in mind: to once again dominate the world of Superbike., …

That year, James Toseland – already titled with Ducati in 2004 – won the Batavian team in World Superbike. A meager booty compared to the eight driver titles gleaned in the Supersport category !

Previously, three Honda riders had entered their names in the WSBK prize list: Fred Merkel in 1988 and 1989, John Kocinski in 1997 and Colin Edwards in 2000 and 2002. The latter then had to fight hard against Troy Bayliss and the Ducati.

So we have to go back to 1997 and the dark Kocinski to see the winged brand win the title "constructor" in Superbike. The world number one – "n ° 1" worldwide in sales of motorcycles, but n ° 5 in the 2012 World Superbike … – must react !

Certainly, Ronald Ten Kate and his team do not have a new Fireblade to chew on this year and only Ducati is naming a new model this year (read our). But the charismatic boss of the eponymous team has some ideas to help the Honda progress….

"Yes, it’s in our plans: the new swingarm is one of the many changes we’re making to the CBR this year to improve weight distribution"Ronald recently replied to a keen supporter…

The latter had indeed noticed that "Mr. Rea used an inverted arm as found on the RCV213V during testing", arm that one"no longer found on the bikes unveiled during the official team presentation" !

"Don’t tell anyone, but the motorcycles used for our launch were show models", even specified the leader of the Reds in World Superbike, alias" the trickster ":"the racing bikes were on their way to the Jerez tests".

In Australia, a new tank will also be tested. But 21st century obliges, a significant part of the changes made for the new season is invisible and intangible: "we have some new software developed by Honda for MotoGP", revealed Mystery Mister Ten Kate.

MotoGP … Here is another "engine of the action", a memory for the old leaders of the World Superbike like Checa, Melandri or Guintoli, but a dream that remains to be realized for many young riders of the World Superbike…

Jonathan Rea, him, had the chance to touch this holy grail with the tips of his gloves, two years ago, during, but especially last year in. However, to be able to be tenured within the Intercontinental Circus, the pilot "Honda Forever" must still prove himself..

If Chris Vermeulen and more recently Cal Crutchlow had the chance to jump on a proto without even wearing the Superbike crown, it seems that "JR" remained a little too long in WSBK – reluctantly – to pretend to move to MotoGP without have the Superbike title in your pocket…

The 2013 season will be his fifth in the category for the Northern Irish rider, and his ninth riding a Honda! In the World Top 5 since his arrival in the WSBK arena – with the exception of, a year marked by an injury -, Johnny is once again aiming for the very first place.

For this to happen, it is imperative that Jonathan avoid injuries – easy to say from behind his computer screen! – and learn to brake in the race, like Tom Sykes did last year. Because Rea still lets slip too many points due to poorly controlled attacks…

Asked in turn by a fan on the official website of the Honda Pata team, Johnny nevertheless assured that in the event of a fight for the win against his new teammate and English compatriot Leon Haslam, he would not hesitate for a single second. !

"If Leon was on my heels on the last corner of the last lap, then I’ll try to leave him there.", answers n ° 65 honestly and logically."But I’d be happy to see him on the podium after that"… then to drink a good beer once back in their motor homes, as was the case after last year !

Since the departure of Checa at the end of 2009, Honda Ten Kate has struggled to find a second successful driver: neither Neukirchner in nor Xaus in, nor Aoyama in, have managed to regularly enter the Top 10 in the race….

Fortunately, Haslam’s return to Honda should be a game-changer. Disembarking from the British Superbike in the World Superbike on the handlebars of a CBR1000RR, the English runner-up had finished his first season at the international level in a promising 6th place ().

Its stint at Suzuki the following year had also been crowned with success … Well almost, since the "Pocket Rocket" finished second in the championship, far behind Biaggi and his Aprilia (376 points against 451) but far ahead of Checa then third on Ducati (297).

The next two seasons proved to be far less successful for the No.91. Three podiums in 2011 and five last season riding the Munich bomb (the official S1000RR) are no match for 14 podiums – including three wins – collected in 2010 at the controls of the good old GSX-R !

Haslam is therefore counting on this new season – and above all counting on the Fireblade! – to reinvest the outposts more frequently. Compared to the S1000RR, "the CBR is a much more refined and developed ensemble, which one would expect since it has been participating in the WSBK for some time", allows the former BMW driver to say today.

"I was piloting a private CBR in 2009", he continues,"and the version of Ten Kate is certainly more advanced, while remaining natural and comfortable for me, which allowed me to perform good laps from my first tests in October at Assen".

Will the 100% English Honda Pata "Dream Team" be able to beat their rivals and propel Honda to the forefront every weekend, or even give them a world title – or both? , pilot and builder ?! – at the end of the 2013 season? To find out, there is only one solution: stay connected !

Honda team

  • # 65
    WSBK: 98 starts, 29 podiums including 10 wins, 3 poles

  • # 91
    WSBK: 139 starts, 28 podiums including 3 wins, 1 pole

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