Castrol Honda returns to World Superbike

Team ten Kate line up at the official team launch today in the UK.

The latest incarnation of an iconic team has returned to the World Superbike championship following today's launch of the new Castrol Honda team, with the global lubricants brand announcing title sponsorship of Honda's superbike effort for the upcoming 2011 title race.
The new team will feature riders Jonathan Rea and Ruben Xaus campaigning Honda's CBR1000RR Fireblade, with the squad being run by the Netherlands-based Ten Kate Racing outfit, who have led Honda's World Superbike effort since 2004.

Castrol's association with Honda's motorcycle racing activities goes all the way back to the Japanese manufacturer's first foray into the sport at the Isle of Man TT in 1959 and the two companies celebrated 50 years of racing together in 2009.

While Castrol has maintained support of Honda's annual World Superbike championship effort in recent years, its previous title sponsorship of the Castrol Honda team generated no fewer than three world titles, with John Kocinski in 1997 and then twice with fellow American rider Colin Edwards in 2000 and 2002.

For Jonathan Rea, 23, the new season, which opens on 27 February at Phillip Island in Australia, will be his third in the World Superbike championship. The Northern Irishman finished in fifth place in 2009, taking two wins, a tally which he doubled last season on his way to fourth place in the championship.

Ruben Xaus, meanwhile, first competed in the World Superbike championship in 1998 and finished as runner-up in 2003 before a two-year spell in MotoGP. The 32-year-old Catalan rider has 11 career wins to his name and a total of 35 podium finishes to date.


Donald Smith - sponsorship manager, Global Marketing Unit, Castrol:

"Castrol are delighted to join Honda once again to see the return of the famous Castrol Honda World Superbike team to racetracks around the world. Motorcycle racing provides Castrol with the ultimate environment to test and develop our advanced Castrol Power One technology and the Castrol Honda World Superbike team provides a powerful and exciting platform to demonstrate the performance of our Castrol Power One products."

Carlo Fiorani - racing operations manager, Honda Motor Europe:
"We are absolutely thrilled that Castrol has shown this level of faith in Honda and its World Superbike championship team. We are really looking forward to the 2011 season and to achieving even more wins under this famous racing banner. It's great to have an such an iconic motorsport brand as title sponsor for the team and, personally, I think the Castrol Honda CBR1000RR race machine looks absolutely fantastic!"

Ronald ten Kate - manager, Castrol Honda World Superbike Team:

"When our world championship racing adventure was first beginning, many years ago now, Castrol Honda was the one team in the paddock which everyone looked up to, whose professional and performance standards we all wanted to achieve. It is an honour for us now to be racing under this famous and historically successful banner and we are privileged to be following in the footsteps of the team we admired so much in the past. You can be sure that everyone in the Ten Kate Racing organisation—riders, mechanics, and all the workshop staff - will give 100% commitment to this really exciting new phase of our World Superbike campaign.

It does the soul good to see the Castrol colors back in WSBK. American's Colin Edwards and John Kocinski won three titles on Castrol Hondas.

Jonathan Rea - #4:

"One of my main inspirations for racing was watching Castrol Honda's Colin Edwards battle Troy Bayliss for the World Superbike championship in that epic season in 2002. It's a real honour for me to be racing under those same famous colours for the 2011 season and I'll be trying my hardest to recreate what Colin did for the Castrol Honda team. I think the bike looks fantastic and I know the Ten Kate guys back at the workshop have been working really hard on its technical development since last season finished so now I just can't wait to get started."

Ruben Xaus - #111:

"After many years of racing at world championship level it is very nice and important for me to be part of a big project like the new Castrol Honda team. The biggest motorcycle manufacturer in the world is joining together with one of the biggest lubricants companies in the world and supporting the Ten Kate team, which has had a lot of success with many world championship titles. All together it's a big and really exciting mixture and I will give my talent and every effort to help Castrol and the Honda CBR1000RR become a regular winning partnership in the 2011 championship.

Riding Solo in Mexico

In his latest adventure motorcycle documentary Beyond The Border (Riding Solo in Mexico), Seattle filmmaker and motorcycle-journalist Sterling Noren pursues his passion for adventure travel.

In this documentray, he rides his BMW GS riding through the Baja Peninsula and the Sierra Madre Mountains of Northern Mexico in search of a story about life in Mexico that is not full of violence and despair. 

He succeeds in capturing the spirit of adventure and discovery, and making a film as much about motorcycle travel as it is about freedom, survival and people coming together to make peace.

Heading solo into the unknown, Noren successfully navigates 3,000 miles of rugged terrain, passing through small fishing villages along the coast of Baja, and the isolated pueblos on dirt roads at the bottom of the spectacular 6,100 ft deep Copper Canyon (a canyon system four times the size of the Grand Canyon). 

He tells a story of friendships, fears and challenge as he discovers a "real treasure of Sierra Madre," a life-affirming event that stands in contrast to the ever-present news about the drug wars south of the border. 

Noren documents "the greatest race the world has never seen," the 50-mile Copper Canyon Ultra Marathon, meets it's inspiring organizer Micah True (Caballo Blanco) and the race participants, the ancient tribe of Tarahumara Indians - The Rarámuri.

Sterling Noren is motorcyclist at heart and a solo filmmaker with no support, no back up plan and no reservations. His goal was to survive the challenges of riding alone in Mexico, document the journey on film.

Produced and Directed by Sterling Noren, Beyond the Border (Riding Solo in Mexico) is available on DVD (NF-BTB) for a retail price of $24.95. He has also produced the BMW GS Off-Road Riding Skills DVD (091-0200) whichs is available for $29.95.

Both motorcycle DVDs are available through Touratech-USA or by calling 1-800-491-2926.

Gabor Talmacsi to test Kawasaki ZX-10R at Sepang

 

Gabor Talmacsi may be at a crossroads in his career, but not wanting to leave any stone unturned and despite revealing that the World Superbike championship is hardly known in his native Hungary.

Talmacsi is still deep in talks with Pedercini, and has decided to give superbikes ago, pending a test with the Kawasaki ZX-10R. The Hungarian rider will be joining the platoon of Kawasaki superbike and superstock riders (Tom Sykes, Joan Lascorz, Chris Vermeluen, Stuart Easton, Katsuaki Fujiwara, Roberto Rolfo, Marco Bussolotti, Leandro Mercado and Bryan Staring, who’ll all be at the Malaysian track from January 10th to 14th.

According to Lucio Pedercini, Talmacsi asked to join the test session at Sepang in order to get the feel of a 1000cc 4-stroke superbike on track, as his previous experiences with a four-stroke has only been with a Moto2, before deciding if his future, wanting to be sure that he could also be competitive in this category.

 

p/s - those who have extra time.... might want to watch the test....