The HRC team has opened the dances of the presentations of the teams that will compete in the 2022 World Superbike season, unveiling the CBR1000RR-R which will be entrusted to Xavi Vierge and Iker Lecuona. The two will make their debut in the production derivative category representing a totally renewed line-up, but these are not the only innovations from Honda.
Leon Camier holds the role of Team Manager for the second consecutive year and, with a season of experience on his shoulders, aims to further improve the work within the team, also thanks to the excellent feedback received from the two riders in the first tests. But to take the missing step, Honda has developed a series of innovations, first of all the transition from Ohlins to Showa, to then reflect on the idea of more tests for the teams to which it is granted.
SBK like MotoGP: more tests for teams with concessions?
BMW and Honda are currently the only two teams that enjoy concessions, that is, those “aids” in technical terms that can allow teams with a more evident gap to get closer to their rivals in order to make the grid more balanced. Just like in MotoGP, the teams that benefit from the concessions have more leeway, and the idea for 2022 is to increase the number of tests for the manufacturers who enjoy the concessions during the season.
According to Camier it would not be a bad choice, and it would follow in the wake of MotoGP, in which the teams with the concessions have had the opportunity to grow thanks to a greater number of tests: “This is something that would be good, honestly. It is something that has been done in MotoGP. It is very difficult to make good progress in this championship with very restrictive rules, and I think that giving new constructors and new teams entering the championship a little more freedom to test would be important, really beneficial. We’ll see what happens, if it happens, but it’s something that would be useful for sure ”.
“Of course we would like to do as many tests as possible,” continues Camier, “but the reality is that you can’t test every day of the week. And if we had open testing, it wouldn’t be just for the sake of driving, it would be when we have specific parts to test and it would be based on what Japan can do. There must be a specific objective for the test, but we would certainly like more ”.
From Ohlins to Showa: great news from Honda
The 2022 of the HRC team is full of news, starting with the riders. For the season starting in April at Aragon, Honda will give Vierge and Lecuona a bike that will feature Showa suspension. After using the Ohlins until last year, HRC changes course and the two Spaniards’ new suspensions on the CBR1000RR-R had already been seen in the last tests. For the house of the golden wing it is a change that aims to improve performance, as confirmed by Leon Camier. The Brit also reveals the switch to Nissin brakes.
“The reason for switching suppliers is that there is room for improvement with new suppliers,” says the HRC Team Manager. “The rest of the grid uses Ohlins, aside from Kawasaki, and we know that Showa is doing a lot of work behind the scenes trying to improve their product, he has won the last six world titles until last year. So the quality of Showa is indisputable. We feel there is room for improvement, fundamentally. Same goes for Nissin, we feel they’re having a big push behind the scenes and it’s something we want to get involved in. We have tested everything and the starting point is good, otherwise we would not have made the change, but we feel that the potential is greater ”.
Additional information by Jamie Klein
#SBK #MotoGP #tests #teams #concessions