Racing has always been at the heart of Honda, indeed racing is Honda’s very DNA. From the very beginning company founder Soichiro Honda insisted that his engineers prove the company’s engineering capabilities and accelerate development by testing their creations in the white heat of competition. It has always been thus, from Honda’s very first Model A to the current RC212V MotoGP weapon. As current HRC president Masumi Hamane says: “A racing motorcycle is a rolling laboratory that provides us with live information and the racetrack is the stage where our dreams come true.”
Carlos Checa stole the headlines in Saturday afternoon’s “Special Stage” qualifying session at Suzuka, with a lap of 2’07.587 on the Honda HRC 33. Behind the Honda is the Yamaha Racing 21 team of Nobuyuki Osaki and Katsuyuki Nakasuga (2’07.806) and the Suzuki Yoshimura with Jomo 34 team of Kosuke Akiyoshi and Yukio Kagayama (2’07.969).
The Suzuki Yoshimura with Jomo 34 posted the fastest time in Thursday’s free tests at Suzuka with a lap of 2’08.585, a mark set by rider Kosuka Akiyoshi. His Suzuki was the only machine to have completed the 5,821 meter Japanese circuit under the 2’09 barrier. The next best time came from Katsuyuki Nakasuga on the Yamaha Racing 21 with 2’09.607, just ahead of the Honda HRC 33 who registered 2’09.948 thanks to its star rider Carlos Checa.