WORDS> JON URRY IMAGES> JAMIE MORRIS
They say that racing can be a catalyst for great design innovations. While this is certainly true, it can also be the place where fragile egos are either built up or brought crashing down to earth. And by the start of the 2000 World Superbike season, Honda’s company ego was so severely bruised by Ducati’s perceived unfair advantage and resulting dominance in the series, the firm decided that they needed to prove a point. And boy did they succeed in doing that…
While this may sound a bit dramatic, it was the truth. Throughout the 1990s, Honda had been chucking bucket loads of cash at their generally unsuccessful RC45 V4 and aside from mad Johnny K’s single title in 1997, the series was basically a Ducati-fest.