Press Release

Honda World Motocross Team take debut win with 2012 CRF450R

ocscottie
10/23/2011 9:23pm

The Honda World Motocross Team have taken a debut overall victory with the new 2012 Honda CRF450R.


Competing at the Sugo round of the Japanese National Championship, team
riders Rui Gonçalves and Evgeny Bobryshev had their first opportunity
to familiarise themselves with the machinery they will be using to
contest the 2012 MX1 World Championship – and they would start just as
they mean to go on, putting it on the top step of the podium.


After just one half day with the new bike, prior to the Sugo race, Rui
Gonçalves and Evgeny Bobryshev ventured into the competitive
environment; the ideal scenario to put the new machine through its
paces. Gonçalves would earn overall glory on the day with two solid
performances. After finishing third in the first moto, he would go on to
win the second in dominant style; earning himself the overall
accolade. Team-mate Bobryshev would post a consistent performan
ce,
finishing second in both heats, despite a few small mistakes. Home star
Narita-san would provide the stiffest competition, taking the win in
the first moto before both Honda World Motocross riders really found
their stride and eclipsed him in the second running.

The Sugo
race came at the beginning of a five-day testing programme in Japan for
the Honda World Motocross Team. Engineers from the team are working in
close unison with engineers from Honda Japan as they evaluate the new
prototype Honda CRF450R that will be used in the 2012 MX1 World
Championship season.



Rui Gonçalves, Honda World Motocross
“It
feels good to take the win on my first outing with the new bike. It
was the first time I have ridden properly since the Motocross of
Nations – as I have only been practicing since then – so I was riding a
bit tight at first. But in the second moto I let things flow a bit
more and got the result. We are all working really hard out here to
evaluate the new package and so far things are going really well.”

Evgeny Bobryshev, Honda World Motocross
“Honestly
my racing performance was not so good. I got arm-pump in the first
race and had a few problems in the second, twisting my knee, twice! The
racing schedule is pretty tight in the Japanese championship and you
don’t really have time to bed yourself in properly. Despite this it was
real important to test the new bike and we are all really happy with
what w
e have;
it is something special. Over the next few days we will learn even more
about it.”

Roger Harvey, Off-road Manager, Honda Motor Europe
“We
are pretty happy with the result from this event but to be honest it
was not all about results. We wanted to get some time under our belts
with the new bike and we have started things off on the right foot. The
next few days of testing will be equally as important and with help
from Honda Japan we are positive that we will find a strong direction
with the new package.”
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