WSBK: Factory Inspection: Red Bull Honda

The Red Bull Ten Kate Honda World Superbike team have come into 2018 with two brand new riders and a lot of catching up to do. After an emotionally and mentally draining 2017, the team will be hoping for their first podium, with the appointment of Leon Camier and Jake Gagne. The SP2 Fireblade is still a young bike and has shown glimpses of promise but this season, it is down to Leon Camier and Jake Gagne to make sure that those promises will be fulfilled.

185 races, 9 podiums and a fastest lap, how much longer will Leon Camier have to wait until we see him on top of the box? He has never had a fair crack at the whip, on an Aprilia that was not for him in 2010 before basically becoming a development riders for an array of manufacturers. Camier is to be recognised however, he was making what is effectively a 20-year-old motorcycle in MV Agusta look competitive, something that Jordi Torres has the pressure of emulating in 2018. Camier will yet again be tasked with making the Honda a podium runner, something I believe will be achieved towards the end of the year. It will take time but I think he may well have what it takes. Wins may be a little bit too far out of their reach at the moment.

Jake Gagne makes a full-time debut in 2018, with the first half of the season focusing on primarily settling the youngster down. He will be visiting circuits he will never have been to before so it may well be in the races where we get to see how well he can do. Gagne will also be coupling Camier in the development of the bike, with the aim to have both of them inside the top eight – something that didn’t happen last year. Gagne doesn’t crash too often either, making the team’s data somewhat reliable in 2018.

Due to the bike being young, it is difficult to say where it will go well at. After two days of testing, Camier placed eighth at Phillip Island so they may be going well there, whilst Magny Cours is also a possibility of a good result. Assen was home to the bike’s best finish of the year in 6th with Bradl last season too, so there is an immediate benchmark for Camier. I expect that after Imola, Camier will be knocking on the door of the top half-dozen very hard indeed.