Honda’s World Superbike operations manager Marco Chini believes HRC test rider Takumi Takahashi’s feedback on the bike will prove crucial in its development over the remaining rounds.
Honda has drafted in experienced Honda tester Takahashi to partner Stefan Bradl for this weekend’s races in Portugal, as well as for the Jerez round next month.
Takahashi – who will make his WorldSBK debut this weekend – is highly regarded by HRC, and has vast experience of the Japanese manufacturer’s Superbike machinery, which he has raced to success in the All-Japan series and the Suzuka 8 Hours.
Having struggled to develop the new Fireblade this year, Chini is looking forward to Takahashi’s feedback on the WorldSBK version of the SP2.
“Yes, we are very happy to have Takumi with us,” Chini told WorldSBK.com.
“We are really looking forward to seeing his potential in the Superbike series and to get his feedback about the bike.
“Takumi is definitely the most experienced tester about the Fireblade. He is an HRC test rider, he tested the previous bike, he is doing really good with the current SP2 machine.
“So, I think it’s very important to get his feedback about this machine.”
Takahashi will not be available for all of the remaining four rounds due to his commitments in the Japanese championship, so Honda will field Davide Giugliano – who rode for the team in Germany – in his absence.
While numerous line-up changes during a season – Takahashi will be the third rider the team has run since Nicky Hayden’s tragic death – could be seen as a distraction, Chini sees it as an opportunity to gather more vital data on the bike.
“For the rest of the season, when Takahashi is not available because of the clashes with the Japanese championship, we will keep running Davide Giugliano.
“But all these riders really help development, because obviously with different riding styles you have more data, you have more information about the bike.
“So this is the best way to speed up development for us.
“It has been a very difficult season for many different reasons, and we believe now, with the exclusive connection with Japan, we can really sumarise where we are and the decided where the next step.”
With WorldSBK‘s ‘silly season’ in full swing, and having failed to impress in his maiden campaign, a question mark has appeared over Bradl‘s place within the team for 2018.
With a number of riders linked to the two available Fireblades, Chini admitted Honda was still talking to a number of options, though a decision will be made ‘pretty soon.’
