Honda returns to World Supersport with the CBR600-RR racing base, which is not imported to Europe. But in Asia it is very strong…
De Paolo Gozzi de Motoracing
Honda has been the bike to beat in World Supersport for many years, winning the riders' title nine times. Since the first triumph of Fabien Foret in 20022, the triumphs followed one another with Chris Vermeulen, Karl Muggeridge, Sébastien Charpentier (twice), Kenan Sofuoglu, Andrew Pitt and finally Michael van der Mark in 2014. Then the glorious CBR-RR left the scene, leaving the field open first to Kawasaki and finally to Yamaha , master of the latest editions. Next year, Honda returns with two drivers who will be managed by Midori Moriwaki's Mie team with the direct support of HRC, the racing department of the Tokyo giant.
The project is exciting for several reasons, the first of which is that the road CBR600-RR is no longer sold in Europe. The version that we will see on the track, after passing through the caudine forks of homologation, is the “Race Base”, that is to say the racing version that HRC launched in 2020 for its sports customers. Without the pandemic, the return to the world championship would have taken place two years earlier.
Thanks to the Next Generation formula, the Supersport world championship has regained momentum and sees the 600 four-cylinders of Yamaha ,Kawasaki, and as Ducati V2 (955 cc) and three cylinders MV Agusta (800 cc) and Triumph (765 cc) at the start. To standardize the performance of such different motorcycles, “variable” regulations are in force, which intervene on various parameters (engine speed, control boxes, etc.) at the discretion of the technical commissioners. The concept is a bit bizarre, but it worked, because the 2022 races were spectacular and full of protagonists.
« The Honda CBR600-RR has been virtually unbeatable in Asia of late«
Of the five brands at the start, only the Ducati V2 failed to win, despite the rise of several drivers on the podium several times. In the Supersport environment, the return of Honda is viewed with some skepticism, largely because the Mie Superbike team from 2019 to present hasn't exactly shined in terms of performance. But they would still do well to worry because the potential of the CBR600-RR is very high. In Asian competitions, this Honda is the bike to beat in the category.
The Honda was strong throughout Japan while in the Asian Road Racing Championship, the Asian Continental Series, it tore everyone apart, winning 9 out of ten races and putting four riders at the top of the standings. The technical regulations of the ARRC are slightly different from those of the World Championship which are more restrictive. But those who know the situation well on the ground assure that Honda will be extremely formidable. Andrea Ballerini, in addition to being the technical head of the official Triumph, is a consultant to a Malaysian team that will race in the ARRC with Yamaha: “ we face an unlikely challenge as the CBR600-RR has been virtually unbeatable in Asia of late », Explains the former 125GP champion driver. “ Seeing it racing in Asia, I was convinced that this bike would also be a protagonist in the World Championship, and I wondered why no one was targeting it. In 2023, we will find it again, and It is our luck that the Mie team did not rely on a big name in the category, but will present itself with two inexperienced drivers… »
We will not see Honda run in the two opening races, the February 25 and 26 in Phillip Island (Australia) and the following week in Mandalika, Indonesia. Motorcycles, spare parts and upgrade parts arrive directly from Japan, so the Mie team has work to do. The adventure of Tarran MacKenzie, former British Superbike champion, and Malaysian Adam Noroddin, will begin April 22 and 23 from Assen, the first European round. It's hard to believe that a top driver like Tarran MacKenzie, who raced for years in BSB with the best team Yamaha , accepted the challenge without having concrete guarantees of competitiveness directly from the HRC with, in addition, the medium-term perspective of launching into Superbike. Opponents would do well not to underestimate the Honda, even less the pilot…
