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In an effort to give thanks to its workforce and fans, Honda recently held its annual “Honda Racing Thanks Day” at the Motegi circuit in Japan.

The event saw Honda’s top stars being given opportunities to test some of the brand’s most iconic machines on the circuit, including both cars and bikes.

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The biggest highlight of the event was of course, the presence of Repsol Honda riders Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez, who had the chance to take Honda’s special NSR500 two-stroke Grand Prix machines to the track for the first time.

They were also given the chance to test Honda’s NSX supercar, as well as racing go-karts and CBR250s against other stars like F1 drivers Fernando Alonso, Takuma Sato, and Toni Bou, Suzuka 8-hour winner Takumi Takahashi, Hiroshi Aoyama and Kosuke Akiyoshi, as well as ten drivers from the Super GT series.

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Speaking after testing the NSR500 Grand Prix bike, Pedrosa pointed out that his experience on the bike will be a special one, as this was the first time he had got his hands on one.

“It’s been a really good weekend! I had the chance to have some fun and behave like a kid once again, playing with some very special toys! We drove some great cars and also had a chance to ride the NSR500, whilst enjoying ourselves with other riders and drivers,” he added.

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Marc Marquez, on the other hand, said, “It was good to hang out together, talk about our seasons and see drive Honda’s new and old vehicles! I’d like to take this final chance to wish all our fans a very Happy Christmas as well”.

After making its highly anticipated debut during EICMA 2015 last month, the new sixth generation Suzuki GSX-R 1000 superbike looks set to become a force to be reckon with. (more…)

Fernando Alonso has been having a tough year in Formula 1.

It is bad enough that he could not extract the best out of Ferrari in the four years he was at the team, a feat Sebastian Vettel did so in just one year. Now the Spanish double world champion is having a torrid year at Mclaren.

Honda-MotoGP-Fernando-Alonso-Marc-Marquez-2There is news that he could take a sabbatical in 2016 or even race in the World Endurance Championship. But that may not be all.

Pictures have surfaced of Alonso taming the Honda RC213V, the same race bike that Marc Marquez raced in 2015.

Honda-MotoGP-Fernando-Alonso-Marc-Marquez-7But before you get all excited, you should know that it was all part of a program organised by Honda Japan as part of its annual end of season ‘Thanks Day’ at the Motegi race circuit. Alonso took on Marquez’s race bike, while Marquez straddled up to tame Honda’s new NSX Concept GT.

Also at the program was Indy Car winner Takuma Sato to drive Honda’s 1968 RA301 F1 car.

Honda-MotoGP-Fernando-Alonso-Marc-Marquez-8Alonso also drove Honda’s 1991 MP4/6, the same car driven by Ayrton Senna and Gerhard Berger.

There is no official video out yet, but the video below shows Alonso doing a great job on two wheels.

The long-established German brand HOREX revealed new details about their Silver Edition already presented at the IAA in Frankfurt and another new model, the Black Edition at the EICMA, the world’s largest trade show for two-wheeled vehicles, in Milan, Italy. (more…)

Remember Honda’s ‘City Adventure’ adventure scooter which was revealed at the recent EICMA show in Milan? (more…)

Famed Swiss-based race bike builder Suter Racing officially announced its withdrawal from the World Moto2 championship via its official Facebook page recently.

In its announcement, the firm confirmed that it would not be applying for a Moto2 constructor’s license for 2016.

For 2016, the firm did announce that all of its efforts would be concentrated on the development of the Mahindra Moto3 machine whilst supplying a range of parts for various outfits and factories in said junior class.

Suter’s withdrawal was a move many had expected after the firm declined to reveal as to how many bikes it would have supplied in the Moto2 class for 2016. This year saw just two bikes line up the Moto2 grid in the Qatar season-opener.

Suter has had several high points in the class starting with its three consecutive constructors’ titles won in 2010, 2011 and 2012, followed by one riders’ title claimed by Marc Mar quez in 2012. Despite this and several strong performances in 2014, the switch to Kalex bikes en masse by most teams was inevitable, leading to Suter’s decline and eventual resignation from the Moto2 class next year.

2016 will see just three constructors remain in Moto2, with the bulk of it comprised of Kalex bikes (26 entries in total) other alongside independent constructors Tech 3 and Speed Up.

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Suter’s exit is in part down to its performance, however this is also a strong sign of the strong conservatism reigning within the paddock. It is more or less a clear case of most teams seeing other teams winning and trying to copy their success by acquiring the same, of not similar, equipment.

Another interesting thing to note here is how exactly will organisers and commercial rights holders Dorna intend to resolve the situation since the Moto2 class was conceived with the creation of a diverse environment in mind. A good reminder of that was back in 2010 when the class was held for the first time and saw up to 14 constructors that entered and scored points.

Sources: Suter Racing Facebook via Asphaltandrubber

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