[kropotkin thinks...] - Honda To Offer More Factory-Spec Satellite Machines

[Ninjette Newsbot]

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Ever since the inception of the MotoGP era, Honda has borne most of the burden of keeping the grid full of bikes, never supplying less than 6 machines. In the heyday of the 990s, any one of those bikes, satellite or factory, was capable of a podium on any given day. That all changed with the advent of the 800s. HRC's grave miscalculation of what it would take to build a winning 800cc MotoGP bike left the factory struggling, and satellite spec Hondas went from a prerequisite for success to a liability.

That could be all about to change, according to the Motorcycle News. Speaking to MCN's Matt Birt, LCR Honda boss Lucio Cecchinello revealed that Honda is examining offering satellite teams a near factory-spec level RC212V, to allow them to be more competitive from the start of the season, which would in turn allow them to generate more sponsorship.

At the moment, satellite teams are supplied with bikes that are close to the spec of the factory machines at the end of the previous season, but the development that the new factory bikes receive over the winter means that satellite teams are uncompetitive at the start of the season, only gaining some speed as the season goes on. The Gresini team is a prime example of the current situation, with both Alex de Angelis and Toni Elias scoring miserable results for the first half of the season, their performance only really picking up once they received extra parts at the midway point. Since then, both Elias and De Angelis have been on the podium, and have featured far more frequently at the sharp end, the new parts giving them a better chance of running near the front.

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