The end of Honda? (GP and WSBK)

JPSLotus said:

Well not a single Honda in the top 10 of wsbk qualifying at Phillip Island. Meanwhile you have Andre Iannone on the front row after being out of racing for 4 years.

Xavi Vierge was top Honda in P13. Next closest Honda was P21.

It's hard to not draw the ultimate conclusion that they just flat out don't give a .... anymore as far as superbikes goes.

GP they are saying the right things and doing the work at least from what it appears but there seems to be no correlation to real world results.

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If you examine Honda's performance it's hard to imagine that they still care. If you look at the actions they're taking, it's less difficult to see that they care. HRC homologated a new version of the Fireblade that had a new throttle control system that allowed them to improve their traction control. Also, Camier and Co. weren't really getting it done, and they didn't retain them for the sake of continuity. The new leadership hasn't made an impact yet, but it's difficult to say how much longer it will take to get the electronics dialed in.

The Fireblade doesn't have an issue making power. It has problems going around corners with Pirelli race tires. I wonder what will happen to HRC if Pirelli wins the MotoGP supplier contract?

ApriliaRS250 said:

And where in Africa do you want to ride a R1? In the sand of the sahara or on the 5 lane motorways of Kongo?

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Personally not anywhere but I imagine some residents would like to ride one.

mylexicon said:

It’s possible, but the R1 is tied to the race track. If the bike is no longer raced in international competition because it has lost road homologation in major markets like Europe or the US (CA mainly), how will it be marketed in the rest of the world? Wouldn’t it be a better use of resources to build a Superbike that is legal in all countries?

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I would think so but rules could always change for things like the WSBK for homologation requirements and it may not just be about making street legal versions of that bike in Europe and the US. If the bike meets all emission standards for Asia and other parts of the world, it would be wrong IMO to disqualify the bike from a world series.

They will still be selling track only versions of the bike in Europe.