Honda’s Dakar Weapon – the CRF 450 Rally
Following a 21-year absence, factory Honda will compete at the Dakar Rally, which is set for this January in South America.
And the bike Honda will use at “the world’s toughest motor race” will be the all-new CRF450 Rally. The bike, based on a production CRF450X Enduro, was first unveiled at INTERMOT in Cologne, Germany, last month.
Then, the bike got its first “shakedown” at the Morocco Rally in early October. With Helder Roadrigues at the controls, the Honda CRF 450 Rally took two stage wins.
Joining the Portugal-native Rodrigues on the Honda team for the 2013 Dakar Rally will be 11-time Baja 1000 champion Johnny Campbell (USA), Felipe Zanol (Brazil), Sam Sunderland (United Kingdom) and Javier Pizzolito (Argentina).
During the Dakar, Honda will aim for its first rally victory with a model based on a commercial motorcycle.
Honda has competed nine times from 1981 in the forerunner of the present Dakar Rally, the Paris-Dakar Rally. Cyril Neveu (France) rode Honda to its first victory in 1982, the race’s fourth year, and from 1986 to 1989 Honda won four consecutive titles for an overall record of five victories in nine years, the company reports.
Attached above is wallpaper of the Honda CRF450 Rally.
Click motorcycle thumbnail to expand. Right click motorcycle wallpaper to download.
