Team HRC aboard Honda CRF450 Rally motorcycles2014 Dakar Rally TeamsFollowing a 23-year absence, Honda entered a factory motorcycle into the 2013 Dakar Rally. The top finisher was Helder Rodriquez, who took seventh aboard the Team HRC Honda CRF450 Rally.
Honda returns to the Dakar in 2014, hoping to bring back some success to the Japanese manufacturer. In the 1980s, Honda had positive results at Dakar, competing at nine rallies and winning five between 1981-1989.Honda will field five riders on its Team HRC Honda CRF450 Rally for the 2014 Dakar Rally, which runs Jan. 4 – 18 through Argentina, Boliva and Chile in South America: Helder Rodrigues (Portugal), Sam Sunderland (United Kingdom), Javier Pizzolito (Argentina), Joan Barreda (Spain), and Paulo Goncalves (Portugal).Team HRC took the CRF450 RALLY for testing and competed in the 2013 Morocco Rally, a prelude to the Dakar Rally held in October of this year, and also the 2013 Merzouga Rally. The team took victories in both races.Honda says to further popularize the sport of rally racing, Honda is planning to market the CRF450 RALLY in 2014 for teams and individuals who are aspiring to compete. As part of the verification process, Honda will provide pre-production models of the CRF450 RALLY and on-site technical support to riders Pablo Rodriguez (Argentina), Jean de Azevedo (Brazil), and Laia Sanz (Spain), all of whom will race in the 2014 Dakar Rally.Tetsuo Suzuki (President, Honda Racing Corporation) says: “Since our entry in the 2013 Dakar Rally in January, the Motorcycle R&D Center and HRC have focused on developing an outstanding machine and a winning team.“The 2014 Dakar Rally spans more than two weeks, but through this race we will fight to the finish to share our dreams and exhilaration with our customers. Next year starting with the Dakar Rally, HRC will boldly move forward to share the excitement of two-wheeled motor sports with its fans world wide, and we look forward to continued support for HRC”s activities.”Katsumi Yamazaki (TEAM HRC Rally director) says: “Everything was new and we learned much from the 2013 Dakar Rally, since the last time we raced in the Dakar was 24 years ago.“This year we will put together a winning team in a very short period, carefully considering the machine, rider and crew. We know we are on the right track since we won the Morocco and Merzouga rallies on our brand new CRF450 RALLY, and our team will do its best to achieve the ultimate goal, winning the Dakar. We appreciate all the support, and hope everyone will cheer us on as the team fights all the way to the checkered flag.”
Our first segment introduces you to the new Arch 1s. This latest, slightly more sporting American V-twin, adds to the original KRGT1 coming from the boutique manufacturer based in Hawthorne, Southern California. Senior Editor Nic de Sena rode through Malibu with Gard Hollinger, who co-founded Arch Motorcycle with his friend, Keanu Reeves. The 1s is a unique ride for sure, and Nic explains what makes the bike really stand out.
For the entertaining story behind Arch Motorcycle from Gard Hollinger himself, you must listen to his podcast episode on Motos & Friends HERE
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The guest segment of Motos and Friends is brought to you by the faster and most technologically advanced, 2023 Suzuki Hayabusa—visit your local dealer or suzukicycles.com to learn more.
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In our second segment, Associate Editor Teejay Adams chats with multiple Emmy award-winning writer, Producer, Director, and actor, Thom Beers. the former Chairman & CEO of Fremantle Media North America, responsible for American Idol and America’s Got Talent.
Thom’s fertile imagination led to most of the really big reality TV shows such as ‘Deadliest Catch’ (now in its 17th season!), and many others. Of course for us in the motorcycle world, you’ll be interested to hear the genesis and story of how he started the first real fabrication reality show ‘Monster Garage’, that showcased Jesse James, and then how that led to ‘Biker Build Off’ and the ‘Zombie Choppers’ movie.
You’d imagine that most of Thom’s time is spent sitting behind a desk and on his phone. Not so. His intense stories of capturing much of the content for these shows make for some hair-raising listening.
