Among the important decisions regarding the relaunch of the Honda project in the Superbike World Championship, there is the one that the HRC managers have entrusted to José Escamez. The Spaniard, coming from the Japanese MotoGP team, is now at the helm of the team in place of the former British rider Leon Camier, who resigned from his position in 2021. For Escamez, former motocross rider and coordinator of Repsol Honda in the In recent years, the last few months have been dedicated to learning and updating after the transition from the prototype paddock to the production-derived bikes.
Motorsport.com took advantage of the private tests taking place this week at the Barcelona Circuit to speak to the manager and ask him what he found when he entered the SBK garage. “I found a team with a four-year project that, unfortunately, failed to shine as expected. First we tried to analyze the situation and find solutions. Currently, we're in this process, understanding a little bit about what's happening and why. We are applying the experience to go in the direction we all want,” explains Escamez.
Four years ago, with the new CBR 1000 RR-R Fireblade 2024, a new project was started, with the hiring of Alvaro Bautista first and two young riders such as Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge then. Now a new project starts within the same project that began in 2020. “It is a total continuity of the project, even if we start the fifth year and do it with a completely new bike, even if, from the outside, it seems that it has not changed Very. Major technological changes have been made in terms of electronics and aerodynamics, and we are still working to make the Fireblade a competitive bike on the track, beyond street bike performance.”
José Escamez, Honda SBK team manager, talks to Iker Lecuona
However, the re-establishment of the project did not begin at the first round of the year in Australia as expected, apart from the enormous misfortune of Lecuona's injury, which put him out of action in the previous test at Phillip Island. “Unfortunately, the leap we've made isn't seen from the outside, because it's overshadowed by the big step forward made by other brands,” he explained. “If you look at the times of previous years, we have clearly made some progress, but you can't see it because the others have also made enormous progress,” he adds.
The new manager of the Japanese team realizes that the problem is power management: “The main problem we are facing now is that the bike has great potential, but it is very difficult to manage with the type of engine it has, with a lot of power. This makes it difficult for the riders to work on acceleration, cornering and braking.”
HRC's difficult situation in World Superbike has a clear parallel in MotoGP, where the situation is equally serious. However, Honda's commitment to trying to get out of the tunnel is identical: “Absolutely yes, the management is the same and some of the problems we are facing are very similar. At the moment we are working in the same direction, of course MotoGP is still the priority for Honda, but this does not mean that the SBK project is being left aside.”
Iker Lecuona, Team HRC
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Honda's ambitious short-term goals
Although Honda has not set any deadline, at least behind closed doors, Escamez has a clear and ambitious goal for his first year at the helm of the team. “We are not talking about one or two years, the goal is this season. We know that it will be difficult and that at the beginning of the season we were not able to follow the plan we had envisaged (due to Iker's injury). But we have “We need a short-term change and we aim to do it before the middle of this season. The goal is to fight in the leading positions to get back to where a factory team like Honda would normally find itself.”
For this, however, the opponents also count and this year the leap in quality of the competition was important: “In addition to the fact that the rivals started very strong, from my point of view it is a very competitive and balanced championship, it is not easy. Our rivals have a level of experience and success that we don't have, teams like Ducati in recent years, Kawasaki, even Yamaha… Since last year BMW has made a big step forward and we have to follow the same direction.
As a member of the Honda MotoGP team until last season, Escamez is up to date on the situation. “The truth is that I am now very focused on the SBK project and I haven't followed MotoGP much this year, but you have to be patient and give yourself a margin, things can't change immediately. Going from a stagnant project to a successful one takes time “, he warns.
This year the MotoGP rider market promises to be very intense and with many movements, something that SBK experienced last year, but which Escamez does not rule out continuing now. “It's too early to say anything, we haven't done two races yet, but it's very likely. We can sense that there could be changes and moves and, if there are, we'll be ready,” said Honda's new SBK manager.
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