HONDA RACING: READY TO RULE
With fresh riders and an even fresher Blade on the cards for 2020, Honda Racing is set for one of its most exciting seasons yet.
On paper, it was never going to be easy, but despite the blatant handicap of aged machinery and the realities attributed to fielding a whole new rider line-up, Honda Racing pulled off a stunningly impressive 2019 season. Sporting bikes in both superbike and in superstock, for the first time in a few years, the podium was visited by all three of its riders, and young gun Andrew Irwin went a step further, stamping his authority on the BSB grid with a coveted win at Thruxton. Of course, it wasn’t without its dramas or its challenges, but through effort, grit and determination, Havier Beltran’s team rose to the test and laid the foundations for what could be their best season ever. In the racing world it’s near impossible to predict how well a team will do, but knowing the calibre of your riders and the spec of your machinery is half the battle. For the first time in a decade Honda has unleashed an all-new Fireblade, and it’s set to be the most potent, focused and sophisticated machine yet. Siblings Andrew and Glenn Irwin are set to fly the flag in superbikes, while our farmer friend Tom Neave has signed again for the team in Superstock 1000, with road racer Davey Todd as his wingman. And just to get the calendar as brimmed as possible, Glenn and Davey will be giving it their all at the NorthWest 200 and Isle of Man TT. Hot off the announcement of 2020’s intentions, we had a good chinwag with boss-man Beltran to get his thoughts on the season ahead…
What does the new Blade mean to you?
This new Blade is a radical change from the norm, from the wheels up. It’s been developed with a view to go racing – it’s a clear advancement over what we’ve had in the past. I saw the bike for the first time at the EICMA show, and the more I saw, the more I liked. From what I understand of the situation, HRC has been a major player in the design and development of the new motorcycle, and when you start studying the specs you can soon grasp just how performance orientated the model really is. My expectations are always high; I go racing to win. We’ve not had chance to test the bike just yet, but it has all the hallmarks of a capable race winner. There’s so much to talk about: the higher revs; the massive increase in peak power; the all-new frame; the engine configuration; the aero package; the new linkage and longer swinging-arm. The list of brilliance is a very big one and I’m excited to think what we can do with this bike. We’ll be getting our bikes mid-December and then the hard work starts. We’ve got exhaust systems to finish, body kits to get made. We’ll need new rads, we’ll have to make new wiring harnesses, and then there’s the ECUs and throttle bodies that’ll need commissioning and setting up. We’ve got a very big to-do list, but the effort will be worth it.
On the roads
It’s exciting to have a strong prescience in road racing next year, and I believe we’ve got a great team lined up for the challenge. Ok, Glenn Irwin is no newcomer to BSB, but he’s very much the learner on the roads. Sure, he’s won at the NorthWest 200, but when it comes to the TT it’s a different ball game, so this is going to be a massive year for him and
an exciting time, too. Davey Todd is a rising star on the roads. He took the newcomer lap records on a 600 and 1000cc at the Isle of Man in 2018. He’s shown his capabilities and I don’t doubt that with the right bike and support he’ll do really well on the roads.
I often get asked whether I prefer the roads or BSB? The truth is they each deliver their own unique experience. I know what it is to win the BSB championship and there’s a real hunger from me and the team to get back on top. I’ve also been involved with Honda’s road racing programme for many years, and with Mugen, too. It’s a different kind of challenge. It’s all very exciting and I’m always aware that it’s a different scenario for us than what it was 10 years ago, or even five years ago; technology has moved on, the riders have moved on, the pace has moved on. We’re all going to be learning together, and giving it our all to get to the top.
Are you still learning?
Any manager, mechanic or rider that turns around and says they know it all would be a fool. In this game you’re always learning. You’re learning how different the riders are; you’re learning how different your mechanics are and how well they work with the whole team. And for me as a manager, you have to adapt and change as the years move on. I’m getting older and the riders are getting younger, but I hope I can offer my experience to them and help them to achieve their potential. Of course, the motorcycles are constantly evolving and you have to look even harder to find the big gains these days, in areas like electronics, for instance. You can’t afford to stop learning.
Is rider age important?
We’ve signed a young group of riders for 2020. Glenn’s the oldest of the team; he’s 29. In 2018 he finished second in the British Superbike championship. He had the world at his feet, but look what happened to him in 2019. For me, it’s not so much about a rider’s age, as the support and team that the rider has around them. However old they are, if they’ve got the right approach to racing, the right level of dedication and the right group of people around them, then I believe a younger rider can put up just as a good a fight as a seasoned veteran. Look at it the other way round, from the view of an experienced racer that’s having to work hard to fend off the challenge from young 18-year-olds that are desperate to make their name in the sport. It’s never easy whatever age you are in this game. In reality, everyone that lines up on the grid is a very good rider. The challenge is on us as a team to extract the very best we can from our four riders and I’m really excited to be working with each and every one of them.
How hard is it to get riders on the right path?
Every rider is different. Alex Lowes stands out as a guy with huge talent who just needed a bit of direction when he signed for us. His determination and focus have always been unbelievable, but he’s had to work hard to get to the level that he’s at. He was riding on pure talent, but now he’s the full package. I remember one time at Oulton Park that I had a big issue with him in the 2013 championship, but we worked it over and it only strengthened our resolve, and he ended up winning the BSB championship that year. Unfortunately, I also had an issue with Andrew Irwin this year at Oulton Park, which made it very difficult to stand by him as a manager. I said to him at the time that I couldn’t stand by him for making the mistake he made, but I told him I would stand by him for the severity of the punishment, and that I’d fight it. It’s important that riders take responsibility for their own actions, because otherwise they can’t learn and we can’t move on and progress. Over the years I’ve had a few heated discussions with riders, but I’ve always had their best direction at heart – I’m here to help. There are some riders that will listen and others that won’t, and they’re the ones that will struggle in the long run. There’s the good old saying, ‘You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink’. At the end of the day, it’s in the rider’s hands whether they make the right calls. To get the best out of a rider they have to be willing and wanting to take the next step. It’s as important for them to train right and hydrate correctly as it is for them to learn how to give feedback and ride smarter. There’s no quick and easy path to becoming a great rider, or to help a rider reach their potential. We’re all different.
Was 2019 all you hoped it to be?
This year we saw an iconic manufacturer compete in the championship with an all-new motorcycle that had levels of power, revs and aerodynamics the paddock had never seen before (Ducati’s V4R). To put things in perspective, we were going into our tenth year with a relatively unchanged Fireblade, so we were really up against it. To make things even more interesting, we had signed a young and inexperienced rider in Andrew, while Xavi had never seen more than half of the BSB tracks. On paper the odds were not in our favour, but we still ended up winning a race and both Xavi and Andrew made it on to the podium on more than one occasion, and the guys really deserve a pat on the back for that. In fact, the whole team deserves credit, including Tom Neave who put what was the only Honda in Superstock 1000 but managed to put in consistent, strong finishes and reached the podium at Cadwell Park. Was it a good year? I think we did alright.
How intensely do you study the opposition?
You have to look at your competitors to understand where their strengths and weaknesses are; you’d be daft not to. You’ve got to know what kind of fight you’re in for and prepare accordingly – there’s no point taking a bucket and spade to a gun fight. Everyone does it. I guarantee there will be people registering that in 2020 we’ll have a Fireblade that makes 215bhp at 14,500rpm, and knowing as we do that we’ll be able to rev it to 15,750 at BSB and draw even more power from the motor. Likewise, it’s our job to analyse our rivals and to look for opportunities to take advantage of their weaknesses. It’s not just about the bike, but the team and the riders, too.