Assen awaits the Repsol Honda Team

With an extended championship lead and a successful test, the Repsol Honda Team arrive in Assen with clear goals.

Known as ‘The Cathedral’, Assen is steeped in history as the only circuit to have hosted a round of the World Championship every year since 1949. The fast and flowing nature of the 4.5km long circuit has traditionally produced some of the most exciting races of the year.

Reigning World Champion Marc Marquez arrives with a comfortable margin over his title rivals, but knows he can’t relent for a second. Fortunately, Marquez has an impeccable record in Assen having finished on the podium in each of his six premier class starts. A positive and productive post-race test in Barcelona allowed Marquez and his Repsol Honda Team to assess a number of future options and potential setup changes to benefit them in Assen and beyond.

For Jorge Lorenzo, the TT Assen represents a chance to once again demonstrate the speed he showed in the opening laps of the Catalan GP. An ever-improving feeling with the Honda RC213V is bringing Lorenzo closer and closer to the front of the field. Time between the test and next round of the MotoGP World Championship has allowed Lorenzo to fully recover from his crash during testing.

Honda will also celebrate their 60thracing anniversary over the course of the Assen TT weekend. A number of legendary bikes and riders will be on display and in attendance over the weekend, including a special press conference on Friday.

Livery Revealed for Red Bull Honda to Compete in Suzuka 8 hours

The machine to be raced by Honda’s factory team Red Bull Honda in 2018-2019 FIM* Endurance World Championship Series Round 5, the 42nd “Coca-Cola” Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race (Suzuka 8 hours) is revealed today.

Team HRC will be partnering once again with Red Bull, and will compete in this year’s Suzuka 8 hours as “Red Bull Honda.” Honda’s CBR1000RRW factory bike based on the CBR1000RR SP2 will race in the livery.

* FIM: Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme

192 Special – Order your NC750X now and get free accessories worth up to €1250!

192 I hear you say?! Yes already!

We’ve got a great offer for any Adventure Motorcycle fans this July.

Purchase a 192 registered NC750X and get free accessories worth up to €1250!

And not only that but we’ve got TWO options for you…

Option 1 

Main Stand

Akrapovic Muffler

Worth €1100

Option 2

Panniers

Top Box

Worth €1250

So that means if you order your standard NC750X for €9,200 today you can add either of the above for no extra charge!

Same goes if you’re a DCT fan, pay €10,000 today and add one of the above options for no extra charge until July 31st 2019

Colours available:  Red, Black, Blue, White.

To avail of this offer visit your local Honda Motorcycle Dealership now to order!

Terms and conditions: Offer available only while stocks last. Offer is as states, options are set, no mixture of accessories possible. Offer available at authorised Honda Motorcycle dealerships only. Stock available are both 2018 and 2019 models.

Marquez takes dominating home victory in Barcelona

Marc Marquez celebrated a dominating home victory at the Catalan GP while an apologetic Jorge Lorenzo had his strongest start to a race this season before falling.

The hottest conditions of the weekend met the MotoGP World Championship as the 24-rider strong field lined up on the grid. 51°C track temperature caused Marc Marquez little issue as he relished an early fight as the lights went out.

Marquez would soon find himself leading his home Grand Prix with a comfortable advantage due to incidents behind. Consistently lapping in the mid to low 1’40s during the early stages of the race, Marquez maintained his advantage to cross the line 2.660s clear of second place. This is the reigning MotoGP World Champion’s second premier class win in Barcelona and his fourth of the 2019 season.

The victory is Marquez’s 48th in the premier class and helps to extend his championship lead to 37 points over Dovizioso who was involved in the accident with Lorenzo. Honda hold a 15 points advantage over Ducati in the Constructor Championship.

Jorge Lorenzo had his best start to a Grand Prix as a Repsol Honda Team rider, jumping from tenth up to fourth place by just the second corner. Looking comfortable at the front, Lorenzo quickly closed in on the leading trio. Unfortunately Lorenzo suffered a fall at Turn 10 soon after, ending his race while fighting for the podium and sadly unable to avoid contact with other riders. The opening laps demonstrated Jorge Lorenzo’s ever-improving feeling on the RC213V.

The Repsol Honda Team now prepares for a day of testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya where both Marquez and Lorenzo will run through a number of solutions for the future. Racing action resumes in Assen, June 28 – 30 in a few weeks time.

Honda Optiflow – learn all about Honda’s Lawnmower technology

If you’ve ever looked into our Honda Ride on Lawnmowers, you might have read about or heard of Honda Optiflow. The Optiflow system is unique to Honda and one of the major benefits of buying a Honda Ride on Lawnmower.

Our Research and Development team has developed Honda Optiflow, a system that combines powerful suction with controlled and low turbulence air flow that reduces power loss, noise and grass accumulation.

From the air intake 1), through the cutter deck 2), to the grass ejection 3), and to the basket 4), the air flow is powerful and constant enough to completely fill the grass bag whilst minimizing dust.

What does it mean for you? It means you’re going to get more ground covered & cut your lawn for longer before you have to empty the bag. You’ll have a quieter cutting experience and and a reduction in dust levels.

The Honda Optiflow system is available on the Honda HF2315, HF2417 and HF2622, you can purchase any of these lawn and Garden machines from our Irish Honda Dealer Network.

Repsol Honda Team hunt home glory in Barcelona

With the lead in the Rider and Constructor World Championships in hand, the Repsol Honda Team arrives in Barcelona ready to fight.

After a scintillating Italian GP, the Repsol Honda Team enters the Catalan GP with renewed vigour after narrowly missing out on victory in Mugello. Both Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo are looking forward to added support from home fans at the 4.6km long Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Marquez has enjoyed a consistent podium record at the Catalan GP, failing to finish in the top three just once in the premier class. This bodes well as Marquez looks to continue building his championship lead over his title rivals, the reigning MotoGP World Champion currently 12 points clear of Dovizioso.

Jorge Lorenzo, current holder of the pole position and fastest race lap records at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, is hoping to rediscover his feeling from Le Mans on the RC213V. With five wins and seven podiums to his name, Lorenzo has enjoyed multiple successes at his home race in the past and arrives optimistic of more progress.

Free Practice 1 begins the weekend at 09:55 local time Friday, June 14 with the 24-lap Catalan GP commencing at 14:00 local time on Sunday, June 16. A one-day in-season test follows the Grand Prix on Monday.

David Johnson takes sensational Superstock podium in packed TT day

Honda Racing’s David Johnson took his first Isle of Man TT podium in sensational fashion in today’s Superstock race, getting the better of Michael Dunlop by just 0.2seconds. With the weather finally giving an uninterrupted day of running, it was a bumper day of track activity on the Island today.

Getting off to a steady start in the Superstock, Davo was eighth on the first of the three-lap race, but wasted no time in starting his ascent through the field. By Ramsey he was sixth, and by the end of lap one that had become fifth. The team did a fantastic job of his pitstop, getting him underway 3.8seconds faster than Dunlop’s pitstop, and with a penalty for speeding for James Hillier moved into fourth at the start of lap two.

Then in the final lap, the fight for the podium really became incredible. He and Michael Dunlop were separated by tenths of a second throughout, taking turns at holding third position. By Glen Helen, Davo was 0.7seconds ahead, but by Ballaugh Bridge that was just 0.1seconds, and by Bungalow Dunlop was one second ahead, but a stunning final sector for Davo overhauled that deficit to give the popular Aussie his very popular maiden TT podium.

In this morning’s first session, both Ian Hutchinson and Davo ran their Superstock machines for the qualifying lap, which was followed shortly by the second Supersport race. Whilst Davo took his CBR600RR to 10th in the two-lap race, unfortunately Hutchy was forced to retire on the opening lap. He then elected to sit out the Superstock race, in which Davo took the CBR1000RR Fireblade to the podium, in order to focus on this evening’s Senior qualifying lap.

As the sun was sitting low in the sky after what has been a rare beautiful day in this year’s TT, the qualifying lap was the final chance for track time before the blue riband Senior TT tomorrow. Working on some changes to the bikes, Davo finishes 7th fastest and Hutchy 12th. The finale of TT week, the Senior, is scheduled to start at 1000h tomorrow morning.

Summer Savings – Get €1000 off the CRF450L

Summer has landed….and so have our summer offers!

Kicking us off is €1000 off our Honda CRF450L

Honda CRF450L was €11,500, it’s now €10,500

Save on this fun loving machine until July 31st 2019

The CRF450L mixes its competition-bred performance DNA with full road legality and reliability. And is a helmet-full of fun wherever you ride it.

The CRF450L looks like the CRF450R for a reason. It is a CRF450R. Same aluminium beam frame, 449cc Unicam engine and Showa suspension. We’ve turned it into a total trail machine with more bottom-end torque, a six-speed gearbox, full road legality and sharp LED lighting package. And it’s manufactured with the high-quality engineering Honda is famous for.

The CRF450L’s electric-start, 449cc four-valve Unicam engine delivers a smooth spread of torque from low rpm up, helping the rear tyre hook up no matter the ground conditions. Developed in conjunction with the CRF450RX enduro machine it uniquely features a heavier crank mass and compression ratio of 12.0:1. The piston uses 3 rings for long-term durability and the ACG has been uprated to provide electrical power for the lights and maintain battery charge during lower-speed running.

Away from the MX track too much peak power saps precious energy. On the trail torque that finds drive is what matters and the CRF450L makes a strong, fluid 32Nm balanced by power of 18kW, making life easy for its rider, not harder.

 

Find this machine in your local Honda Dealership now, find them here 

 

Marquez fights fiercely for Italian GP second, Lorenzo grabs more points

Just 0.043s separated Marc Marquez from victory at an explosive Italian GP as his Repsol Honda Team teammate Jorge Lorenzo collected more world championship points.

The hottest conditions of the weekend, the track at almost 50°C, awaited the MotoGP World Championship as they 23-rider field lined up for the Gran Premio d’Italia Oakley. From a record-breaking pole position, Marc Marquez made a perfect launch to lead from fellow Honda rider Cal Crutchlow.

A race-long battle for victory saw Marquez fending off Petrucci, Dovizioso and Rins for the majority of the race. In true Mugello style it all came down to the final lap of the race, the reigning world champion saving himself for a late attack. A small mistake at San Donato opened a gap to Petrucci that was fractionally too big to close, Marquez taking second by 0.043s as they roared across the line.

With a haul of 20 points, Marquez extends his championship lead to 12 points over Dovizioso. Honda have a six point advantage over Ducati in the Constructor Championship.

A strong launch off the line saw Jorge Lorenzo move into 15th on the opening lap and with some clear space on track. Able to lap consistently, Lorenzo was able to avoid trouble and steadily gained positions during the course of the race. Crossing the line in 13th, Lorenzo picks up more valuable championship points and experience on the RC213V.

LCR Honda Rider Takaaki Nakagami achieved his best finish to date on the Honda RC213V, crossing the line in fifth and as the first Independent Team rider.

The MotoGP World Championship now enjoys a week off before the Catalan GP, the home race of both Jorge Lorenzo and championship leader Marc Marquez. There’s not long to wait until the lights go out on the Catalan GP on Sunday, June 16.