2014 was a disappointing year for Open class Honda where the RCV1000R only managed a best race result of seventh despite being raced by former world champion Nicky Hayden and Moto2 title runner up Scott Redding.
Honda management had painted a very different impression about the potential of the bike, most notably a 0.3s per lap difference to the Factory model, which falsely raised expectations among fans, teams and the riders themselves.
However, in 2015, the Open Honda will be revamped, most notably through use of this year’s (pneumatic valve) RC213V engine. The RC213V-RS, as it will be officially known, won’t have the seamless gearbox of the Factory class bike and must run the Open ECU.
However the bike will still enjoy perks such as extra race fuel and the softer Open class rear tyre allocation, meaning it should be firmly in contention for top Open honours at the very least.
