Honda clearly subscribes to the “when you get the opposition down, keep kicking them so they don’t get up again.” adage. Last night HRC announced that Fausto Fresini’s eponymous team has been granted full factory status with access to complete support both technical and monetary from the HRC lolly jar. Now a degree of factory support had already been negotiated as part of Marco Simoncelli’s contract, but this goes way farther than that. It brings Hiroshi Aoyama under the factory umbrella, something the Japanese factory has been anxious to do since Hiro is the only Japanese rider in the class and it means that HRC will be going into the 2011 season with a 5 rider FACTORY team (including the 3 Repsol bikes). In fact the only one to miss out is the LCR team with Tony Elias still having to battle on as a semi-supported rider. How serious IS Honda? Very, it seems.
On another very different front, motorcycle.com has just released their detailed road test of the new BMW K1600GTL and to say that they are impressed would be an understatement. Even if you’re not in the market for a gilt-edged luxo-barge you really need to read this road test not just to read all about the new standard in luxury touring, but to read how a road test should be written. It’s as detailed and comprehensive as just about any road test I’ve ever read.
Oh, and BMW seems to have remembered that, lurking inside every touring rider is a hoon!