Boni Joins CAS Honda for Sweden

CAS Honda is excited to announce that it has secured the services of American rider, Matt Boni, in replacement of the injured Billy Mackenzie for round 11 of the FIM MX1 World Championship in Sweden next weekend.

With Mackenzie out recovering from surgery on his injured right thumb, CAS Honda was keen to find a replacement rider to contest the World MX1 series aboard its factory CRF450R. However, with many riders out with injury and the conflicts of interest with contracts already in place, the team chose to look overseas to find a suitable mount to partner Bryan Mackenzie, who is currently standing in for the injured Cedric Melotte.

Boni, like many of his fellow countrymen, is keen to try his hand at Grand Prix level and has already enjoyed success this year having taken the top privateer award in the AMA Monster Energy Supercross series earlier in the season. The 21-year-old finished in an impressive 11th position overall in the 450 class, despite a mid-season switch to the Hart and Huntington Honda team from the BBMX Honda team.

Boni, who hails from Geneva, Florida, has plenty of experience aboard the CRF450R, and is looking forward to the prospect of joining the CAS Honda squad for the Swedish event. The American-pilot will fly over to the UK this week and although he won’t get a chance to test the CAS Honda machinery prior to the race weekend, he remains optimistic of what he can achieve in the ultra-competitive MX1 class.

CAS Honda is looking forward to working with Boni, and is grateful to the Hart and Huntington team for allowing this deal to go ahead.

Matt Boni: #54

“I feel very fortunate to have been given the opportunity with CAS Honda and I am looking forward to exploring my options further as a racer. I have always wanted to try racing in the Grands Prix and this opening at CAS Honda was like a sign that this is perfect timing to try them out. I’ve had a good year already on a Honda after winning the top privateer award in the AMA Supercross series, but this is an amazing opportunity and I think the tracks will fit me. Although I definitely want to do the US Supercross again later this year, if things go well in Sweden, I’d really like to do a few more GP’s to establish my name in Europe. I am very excited about the experience, I know that the bikes are great, and I know I am in good shape, so hopefully my results show my hard work and dedication.”

Neil Prince: CAS Honda Team Manager

“Obviously this year has been difficult for us, and we’ve been quite unlucky with injuries, but it’s definitely the right decision for Billy to sit out of the next few races. We did speak to a few riders within the current paddock as a replacement, but like before, we are not keen on taking riders away from the already reduced MX1 field. Also, we have been careful to not employ someone that may have a conflict of interest with the contracts we already have in place. I’ve watched Matt at a few races in the past and he definitely is a talented rider. He’s very enthusiastic and is keen to try out our bike at the Swedish Grand Prix with a view to maybe staying on for the rest of the season. He is familiar with the Honda, which is important, and hopefully he can adapt to our race machine quite quickly. He unfortunately won’t have any time to test as he only flies into the UK on Thursday, so this could be a tough challenge for him to jump straight on the bike for the race weekend, but it will be a good experience for all of us and I’m looking forward to it.”