INTERVIEW
HONDA RACING WORLDSBK BOSS RONALD TEN KATE
P86
So, there's some resemblance with
Jonathan Rea, who is so good at mo-
tocross. It just tells you a bit if you can
do both disciplines in a good way—
that is something which makes you
special. Then we got to work with him
here. After the first session already
our data engineer came to me and he
said, "Hey, he's good. He can ride a
bike." There is stuff he needs to learn
and he needs to improve, but basi-
cally, he's not doing strange things on
the bike. He is adapting. He is feeling
what the bike needs. He's good.
What has been the biggest thing
for him at Laguna Seca? Was it the
tires or was it the bike itself?
I think it's everything, to be honest.
Just moving to the world champion-
ship itself, working with a team orga-
nized in the way we are, is all differ-
ent. The bike itself is more powerful
than what he used in America. There's
way more electronics on the bike. And
being with these guys on the track,
"I THINK WE NEED
PEOPLE TO SPEAK
ABOUT THE SINGLE
ECU, WHICH HAS
WORKED QUITE WELL
IN MOTOGP."
(Above) Eight
years of constant
development
with the previous
generation CBR
made it into a
nearly-there
title contender,
but the other
manufacturers
(namely
Kawasaki and
Ducati) had
moved the
goalposts in that
time.
(Left) Team
Red Bull Honda
WorldSBK rider
Stefan Bradl
in preseason
testing in Spain.
It's been far from
plain sailing for
the new Honda
CBR1000RR SP2.
