The Moriwaki Althea Honda Team have unveiled their 2019 World Superbike Championship challenging bike ahead of the opening round of the championship. WorldSBK veteran Leon Camier and returnee Ryuichi Kiyonari will pilot the factory-supported machines in hope of achieving great results.
Moriwaki Althea Honda Team have remained somewhat secretive about their bikes, with regards to pace and what exactly they have been working on. This unveiling is the first glimpse of the team since they announced their plans at the end of last season.
Honda return to the WorldSBK championship as a factory-run team for the first time since 2002, when Colin Edwards gave them the title in a thrilling season showdown at Imola. Honda have only managed one title since then, with James Toseland in 2007; with the return of HRC for the first time in 17 years, they will look to pick up where they left off.
The CBR1000RR for 2019 features a completely new and revamped livery. Predominantly red, the machine features Honda’s traditional factory colours, with blue and white making the bike stand-out amongst the crowd. Camier’s #2 and Kyonari’s #23 are in a bold, black font, whilst Moriwaki branding sits on an eye-catching blue background. It is one of their biggest livery changes in many years.
With the waiting over, Camier spoke highly of the team and bike, stating: “It’s a real honour to be involved in this project with the support of Honda, and the experience of both Moriwaki and Althea. It’s all new of course, and that means we have a lot of work ahead of us, but I think we have good potential and I’m excited to see what we can do. It will be good to get out on track with our rivals this week and understand where we are.
He added further, saying: There is a lot to work on as I’ve said, the bike having been developed in a different championship, but we’re ready for the challenge. Our main goal is to improve race by race.”
Former Honda rider in WorldSBK, Ryuichi Kiyonari is a welcome addition to the 2019 WorldSBK line-up and stated his excitement ahead of the new year on a new bike: I am very excited to have this opportunity to return to World Superbike and I thank Honda, Moriwaki and Althea for putting their trust in me. A lot has changed since I was last in the championship, in 2009, and I think the level is now a lot higher with many fast riders. Having said that, I have worked hard in recent years and hope I can continue to grow this season with my new bike and new team; I am very motivated and believe we can work together to achieve some good results.”