HASLAM, CRUTCHLOW AND HONDA - REUNITED IN 2008 BSB ‘DREAM-TEAM’

CLICK HERE for details



30th September 2007 : Vallelunga

Well Vallelunga might not have been James Toseland’s best day ever but it wasn’t the disaster it could have been. With such a big points lead coming in to the event a pair of decent finishes would be enough and after race one when James finished third, and more importantly getting the better of Haga after a long scrap, things were looking quite bright. Despite starting on the end of the second row after a superpole spill another lightning first few corners in race 2 put the Ten Kate Fireblade well in the hunt. Everything seemed to be going if not to plan (he wasn’t out in front) then at least nearly to plan when disaster struck. Many of the riders had complained of a lack of grip with a lot of accidents in practice and sadly it was James’ turn as the front slid away dumping him in the gravel. He’s nothing if not determined though and after a quick bash on the handlebars our lad was back in it, well down the order but still running and still in the points.

Troy Bayliss did the decent thing and prevented both Haga and Biaggi from taking the second race win so now it’s all down to the series finale at Magny Cours. With a 29 point advantage one win would do it. Toseland has been in the same situation before on the same track, winning the world championship over then team mate Regis Laconi at the final round. Toseland claims he doesn’t feel pressure so it should just be a formality then, another WSB world championship for a Brit and a World Championship for the fabulous Honda Fireblade. If only it were so easy, fingers crossed though, he’s worked really hard and wouldn’t it be great to have another world champ.

In the Supersport class we may well have seen the start of something big for another Brit, Craig Jones might not have won on his CBR600RR but he led for most of the race and only got passed near the end by the new world champion. Who knows, if the race hadn’t been red flagged for oil on the circuit Jonesy might even have been able to get by again and take his first win in WSS, he was certainly right with Sofuoglu when the flags came out.

26th August 2007 : BSB Cadwell Park

It might not have been a perfect Bank Holiday weekend for the HM Plant Honda team but if the result of a poor weekend is a bigger championship lead for your team leader then maybe things aren't so bad after all. Race 1 didn't go so well for the HM Plant team with Rea and Bike Animal Honda rider Leon Camier colliding at the chicane. Honda still scored well though with the Fireblades of Kiyonari, Sykes and Byrne picking up 2nd, 3rd and 4th behind a charging Leon Haslam.

For the second race Rea was really fired up, his efforts to challenge Kiyo for the championship needed nothing less than a win. As soon as the lights went out Rea simply cleared off and left the rest of the field, nobody looked close to challenging him as he flew over the mountain every lap. Sadly it was the famous landmark of the Linclolnshire circuit that provided the major talking point of the day as both Leon Camier and Shane Byrne had big accidents on their Fireblades. Camier's leg injuries are serious and look like putting him out of action for some time but Byrne was luckier and got away lightly. The safety car came out after Camier's accident bunching the field back up but Rea wasn't going to give anyone else a sniff of a win and cleared off again as soon as the car pulled in. Kiyonari made it a Honda 1-2 with another second, he has never managed a win at Cadwell so to increase his championship lead was as good as he could have hoped for. In the championship Kiyo now has a 41 point lead with two events and four races to go so he must be the odds on favourite to take the 2007 BSB title.

On the world stage Honda already has one world champion, Ten Kate's Kenan Sofuoglu wrapped up the World Supersport championship in fine style. He has been in a league of his own this year, no doubt helped by Ten Kate's wizardry with the Honda CBR600RR.

Our own James Toseland takes a healthy lead in to the next round but it looks like he'll have to wait a week or two before he has enough points to be uncatchable.

We've turned our Fireblade demonstrator into a Hannspree replica! Bring your licence and a utility bill for a test ride on this fantastic looking machine.

Click on the below images for a sneek peak (images open in a new window)

 

22nd July 2007 : Shane Byrne wins on the Blade!

This year’s BSB championship looked like turning into a two horse race with Honda’s Ryuichi Kyonari and Jonathan Rea keeping the winners champagne to  themselves  but that all came to an end at Mallory Park when Shane Byrne spoiled the party, and of course he was riding another Fireblade. It seems that if you want to win in BSB the Fireblade is the must have option, they’ve won 12 out of the last 14 races, a fantastic record. Five out of the top seven bikes in the championship are Blades, the only others to get even a distant look in are the Airwaves Ducatis but they’re a long way back in the points table.

In WSB James Toseland didn’t manage to win both races for Honda but a first and a second was a pretty good effort. With Haga and Bayliss having a poor weekend Toseland's lead increased. Although it’s the enemy it was still nice to see the wily old fox Max Biaggi getting on the top step, as long as it doesn’t become a habit of course. He’s moved up to second in the table but is still 43 points behind our local hero. If you count the number of laps led so far this year James has managed nearly as many as Haga and Bayliss combined, an amazing statistic.

In the Supersport race Kenan Sofuoglu continued his dominance of the championship on the Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR, his lead is now a massive 70 points. What made it a special weekend for us Brits was the runner up spot for Craig Jones. He’s been knocking on the door of a good result for a while so second was great to see. The Ekerold Honda CBR600RR is a privateer bike making his result even more creditable.

16th July 2007: Victory in Germany

On a busy weekend for bike racing the Honda Moto GP team had a welcome return to form at the German GP with a dominant display from Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa who led the race more or less from start to finish. At the flag he had opened up a 13 second gap, a huge winning margin over Loris Capirossi's Ducati. To make Honda's German weekend even better reigning world champ Nicky Hayden hauled his way through the field to get up to third.

Back at home the BSB series looked more like the national jet skiing championship at a sodden Oulton Park. With crashes everywhere it was the HM Plant Honda pairing of Ryuichi Kiyonari and Jonathan Rea who took a win apiece. It wasn't all smiles though as both riders crashed out of the race they didn't win in spectacular fashion. In race 1 it was a Fireblade 1-2 with Shane Byrne getting runner up spot while race two went even better for Honda with a Fireblade 1-2-3 from Rea, Harris and Byrne.

The supersport event was another Honda clean sweep with Ian Hutchinson leading John McGuinness and Jamie Robinson home, all on their Honda CBR600RRs.

The Fireblade and 600RR demonstrators are still available for test rides and are also for sale at a big saving over new price.

5th July 2007: Jonathan Rea Superbike Double!

Foul weather at Knockhill couldn’t spoil the HM Plant Honda party as Jonathan Rea scored his first ever double in the Superbike class. As an ex moto cross champion Jonathan wasn’t fazed by the incredibly slippery conditions and rode a smooth controlled race to pull out a 6 second gap in both races. With Ducati’s Greg Lavilla having a nightmare it was also a good day for team mate Ryuichi Kiyonari, he scored big points with a second and a third to keep himself in a clear lead in the championship.

Rea seems to be the rising young star of british racing, it looks like Kiyo’s biggest challenge for the championship is going to come from his Honda team mate who has moved into a threatening second place in the table. Yet again the Fireblade was the bike to have taking four of the top six places in both races.

We’ve got a beautiful Hannspree Fireblade in the showroom, drop in and have a look!

REA’S DOUBLE GLORY SHINES - CLICK HERE for the full story



12th June 2007: Rea & Kiyonari push the works CBR1000RR

Not content with setting the pace in the British Superbike Championship, HM Plant Honda riders Jonathan Rea and Ryuichi Kiyonari paired up for the Suzuka 300km race riding a works Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade. In difficult conditions the BSB team mates were dicing for the lead in the wet and then opened up a lead over the rest of the field as the track dried. Although Kyo has won the event a couple of times before this was Rea's first ever endurance event making the win even more creditable. With the prestigious Suzuka 8hrs race coming up this was an important event, both riders are keen to go back in July to try and win what is seen as one of the most important races of the year by the Japanese manufacturers.

In the meantime Kyo has to come back to the UK and try to build on his lead in the BSB series while Rea's target will be to get on the top step of the podium having come close several times on the HM Plant Fireblade.



08th June 2007: McGuiness cracks the 130mph barrier on his Honda Fireblade!

TT hero John McGuinness recorded the first ever 130mph lap in Friday's Senior TT to make it a superbike double for the HM Plant Honda rider and another clean sweep of the podium places for the Honda Fireblade. McGuinness set his fastest lap on lap 2 and then romped away to break the race record by nearly a full minute. Ian Hutchinson and Guy Martin were on the podium yet again making it another Honda 1-2-3.
This year's Centenary TT has been one of the most successful ever for Honda, only one race was won by any other manufacturer over the whole week.

You don't need to take our word for how good the TT winning Fireblade and CBR600RR are, come in and try one for yoursef, there's always one of each on demo.

07th June 2007: Honda does it yet again!

After the disappointment of not winning Tuesday's race Honda were back to their winning ways on Wednesday with wins in both races. In the 600 Supersport class Ian Hutchinson won on his HM Plant CBR600RR with team mate John McGuinness second and Guy Martin filling the last podium spot making it a Honda 1-2-3 yet again. Although he didn't win there was some consolation for Martin as he went in to the record books with a new fastest lap at an average of 125.161 mph.

Manxman Dave Molyneux won his 13th sidecar TT on his CBR600RR engined outfit. Passenger Rick Long is now the most successful in the history of the TT. Another local pairing, Nick Crowe and Dan Sayle broke the sidecar lap record before retiring from the lead, another entry in the record books, you'll never guess what motor they had in their outfit, another CBR600RR unit.

So far this week out of five races Honda have won four, in the process setting new lap records in each class. Obviously we can't give you a test ride on one of the Honda sidecar outfits but we can give you test rides on the Fireblade and CBR600RR, proven race winners in the toughest road race in the world!

06th June 2007: Honda Fireblades dominated the TT!

What a start to the 2007 Centenary TT, Honda Fireblades cleaned up with all of the first 6 places in Monday’s opening Superbike race. Pre race favourite John McGuinness was pushed hard early on but faster pit stops helped pull out a gap and he eventually finished with a 26 point winning margin. The other podium spots were taken by the Fireblades of  Guy Martin and Ian Hutchinson.

Just to make it a perfect day for Honda Dave Molyneux and Rick Long won the first sidecar race on their Honda CBR600 engined outfit putting in a 112mph lap to finish off the opposition.

CLICK HERE for the lap by lap results. (PDF document)

20th May 2007: Honda Fireblades dominated the latest BSB round at Snetterton this weekend...

... with the HM Plant team scoring a 1-2 in both races. After a steady start to the season Kiyo has stepped the pace up and in a spectacular display turned a pre weekend 29 points deficit in to an 11 points lead. The Fireblade again proved the bike to have with team mate Jonathan Rea following home in 2nd in both races. Just to rub it in Shakey Byrne made it an all Fireblade podium in race two.

Those of you who tried our Fireblade at the open weekend know how good it is, those who didn't, you're missing out. We've got a demo Fireblade on all the time, give us a call to book your test ride.



13th May 2007 : Hondas win again - BSB Blades fill the top of the table!

Ryuichi Kyonari closed the gap on BSB championship leader Gregorio Lavilla at Outon Park after two thrilling races. Kiyo scored a third in race one then followed it up with a superb win in race 2. The Honda Fireblade had a stunning weekend, in race 1 no less than six of the top ten bikes were Blades, in race 2 it was five out of the top ten and in the championship half of the top ten positions are again Blades.

With the latest Blade currently leading the WSB championship too it’s clearly the bike to have in 2007.


Come and try the Fireblade and CBR600RR for yourself at B&M Honda, drop in or ring to book a test ride on one the class leaders - don't forget your licence and proof of ID!