Halsam, Bobyrshev, McGuinness, Others Visit English Institute of Sport

Motorcycle Racing News

Many of the top Honda racers in the world converged on the English Institute of Sport to take part in physio and isometric testing, strength and conditioning assessments, and a fitness analysis, as well as a seminar on sleep patterns and strategies in relation to sporting performance.

Assessment Day, as it is known, is behind much of Team Great Britain’s successes at the London 2012 Olympics. The data collected from each rider will be collated and used to form the basis of his training and fitness program for the 2014 racing season.

The Honda racers—boasting eight world championship titles among them—included Pata Honda riders Leon Haslam, Michael van der Mark and Lorenzo Zanetti, Honda’s new road racing team of 20-time Isle of Man TT winner John McGuinness and Conor Cummins, the new World Endurance Championship team of Freddy Foray, Julien Da Costa and Sebastien Gimbert, Honda Motocross World Championship riders Evgeny Bobryshev and Max Nagl, Gariboldi Honda’s MX2 racer Tim Gajser, and 2013 Enduro World Champion Alex Salvini.

Richard Parker (EIS Director of Operations) says: “It’s great for us to welcome the Honda riders to the English Institute of Sport. Everything we do here is about maximizing the performance of athletes, and today provides an opportunity for us to assess the riders and see how we can give them some programs to improve their performance on the bike in the coming year.”

Leon Haslam says: “It’s been a fantastic day, and it’s incredible to get all Honda’s different racing disciplines together. The facilities here are amazing and, although I’m used to fitness tests, it’s always good to learn more ways of improving your condition.”

 

Michael Van der Mark says: “It’s really good to be measured against all these other Honda riders, and it will be interesting to get the results back from the guys here to see where we can improve our physical condition.”

Lorenzo Zanetti says: “I am really impressed with this institute, because it concentrates only on sport. It’s been a really fun day, but also very interesting to check my condition against other Honda riders.”