WSBK – WSBK: teams, drivers and challenges for the 2011 season – Honda: two CBR1000RR finally regular?

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WSBK: teams, drivers and challenges for the 2011 season

WSBK - WSBK: teams, drivers and challenges for the 2011 season - Honda: two CBR1000RR finally regular?

Once again this year, Site will follow the exploits, setbacks, fights and victories of the World Superbike for you. The 2011 season begins February 26 in Australia, but let’s take advantage of the official tests in Portimao to make the presentations !

Honda: two CBR1000RR finally regular ?

Faithful to the position – and to Honda therefore, because the guy has his reasons (read), Jonathan Rea finds his CBR1000RR prepared by the Ten Kate team for the third year !

Small change however: Johnny replaces his favorite n ° 65 by the n ° 4 corresponding to his place obtained in the WSBK world championship last year. More important and striking: the two Batavian Honda change their decoration for 2011, Castrol replacing Hannspree as title sponsor of the team – in SBK but not in SSP … (read)

Reputed to be delicate to regulate for several seasons, the Fireblade had become a little more disciplined since its transplant of Ohlins suspensions – replacing the WP – in the middle of the 2009 season. And it was even more docile with the arrival of all latest Swedish elements last summer.

JR’s constant progress and his formidable end to the 2010 season – all unfortunately marred by injuries to the wrist and collarbone – prove it in a masterly way: the CBR1000RR is more and more involved, and the competition will have to count on this duo in 2011 (read) !

Jonathan may be the youngest of the drivers registered in WSBK – he was born in 1987! -, it remains one of the brightest! Leaving to discover the Aragon track last week, the Castrol team had to endure disastrous weather and was spared neither by the rain nor by the cold … But Johnny has shown maturity.

"It wasn’t totally a waste of time: it’s a very nice circuit and I enjoyed riding there, but we were naturally a tone below our rivals who came to test the track in October.", regrets the Irishman,"but at least when we come back in june we won’t start blindly".

Literally cooled by temperature in Spain "3 ° C maximum in the sun and always below zero in the shade, omnipresent because the circuit is cashed in the hills", the new recruit Ruben Xaus was not affected by the behavior of his new mount, on the contrary !

First of the tests which had taken place previously in Portimao in equally calamitous conditions (read), the Spanish once again praised the pleasant character of the Honda.

Has the CBR1000RR become considerate enough to temper the ardor – and limit the number of falls – of "Mr. On-Off"? Because without necessarily finishing either in the gravel or on the podium – he has calmed down since 2008 – Ruben has always obtained particularly irregular results..

So, what to expect from Xaus this year? "Not much more", some will say, stressing the fact that in two years at BMW he did not do better than 5th at Brno in 2010 … "Beautiful blows", others replied, on condition that the Honda suits him as well as the old Ducatis with which he had run some races so well between 2006 and 2008, entering the Top 5 14 times (including two victories) !

The Honda team

Castrol Honda

  • Jonathan rea # 4

  • Ruben Xaus # 111

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