The Repsol Fanatic Blog

The legendary Assen circuit was the setting of another brilliant performance by the Repsol Honda Team. The 90,248 spectators occupying the grandstands at the 'Cathedral' enjoyed a two-man battle between Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa, who led from start to finish, with no rivals to challenge them.

Casey celebrated his sixth consecutive podium in Assen with another victory, his third of the season, and Dani crossed the line behind him to complete the team's fifth double podium of the 2012 MotoGP World Championship. This result, combined with Jorge Lorenzo's unfortunate crash, places Casey in the joint championship lead with 140 points and Dani, 19 points behind them consolidating third position.

Pedrosa took the race lead from the start, with Casey close behind. They were matching times, lap by lap, separated by mere milliseconds and increased the gap to the rest of the pack by more than eight seconds. Dani set the circuit record on lap fifteen (1'34.548…

The SC59 Fireblade is known for being a little clunky when changing gear. Anything to help gear changes smooth are a bonus in my book!
So far, there seems to be only two products out there that help to offer smoother gear changes.
The first is from Gilles, which sells in the UK for around £65.
It boasts the following features:
Needle bearingHard anodizedTItanim colourHelps to eliminate gear shift problems.Gearshaft stands too far out of the gear box, it bends elastically when shifting hard or quick which is the reason for imprecise gear shifting.The shiftholder stabilises the gear shaft and eliniates vague shifting. The second is from Sato Racing and sell in the UK for around £73.99

Sato describe the Shift Spindle holder as:

Shift Spindle Holder adds strength and rigidity to the shift rod linkage for smoother operation and extra durability. Gold anodized billet aluminum with a Teflon inner bushing.

I am undecided which one to go with as yet. I have Sato Street hooks which look great…

Casey Stoner will start tomorrow's Dutch TT from pole position, with team mate Dani Pedrosa alongside him after one of the best qualifying sessions of the season for the Repsol Honda Team. It is the third time in 2012 that the Repsol Honda riders have started from 1st and 2nd, having also done so in Estoril (1st Stoner - 2nd Pedrosa) and Le Mans (1st Pedrosa - 2nd Stoner).

The session was interrupted twice due to light showers and the final grid positions were only decided in the final flying laps. Casey did a fantastic job to put this morning's hard crash behind him and whilst laying ninth on the grid with just six minutes remaining, put in an incredible lap to take his third pole of the season, after Portugal and Catalunya.

Dani, finally finishing second and just one tenth off his team mate, was topping the time sheets on both occasions when the rain stopped play but missed his chance at the top spot after he ran wide on his final lap. In the morning practice s…

2012 marks the 20th anniversary of the iconic Honda Fireblade supersport machine. Since its launch in 1992, the Fireblade has been the benchmark by which all litre class superbikes are measured, so to celebrate this momentous milestone, Honda (UK) has announced a nationwide dealer event on 11 August and is also offering the chance to win a 2012 CBR1000RR Fireblade.

The promotion is launched officially at the Goodwood Festival of Speed (28 June – 1 July), where a celebration of 20 years of Fireblade will already be in full swing, and the prize-draw web page goes live on www.honda.co.uk on the 28 June.

To be in with a chance of winning a 2012 CBR1000RR Fireblade, visit www.honda.co.uk/fireblade and fill in your details on the online registration form to obtain your unique winning code. Take this code to a participating Honda dealer on the 11 August before 2pm to officially enter. The winner will be announced at 3pm that day and if they’re in the dealership at that time, they …

Today, the Repsol Honda Team were back in action at the Assen circuit on the first day of free practice for the Dutch TT.

With pleasant weather and good track conditions, the Honda factory riders began work on the set up of their RC213V machines and tested some new parts in preparation for Saturday's race.

Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa focused on a chassis comparison to improve the chattering issues whilst also spending time working on the tyres and trying different set ups with both soft and hard compounds. In the afternoon, with track temperatures 15 degrees higher than in the morning practice, Dani and Casey chose to remain on the hard compound, not switching to a new rear soft in the last minutes of the session.

Dani, second quickest in the morning, improved slightly in the afternoon and finished sixth in the combined free practice times with 1'35.080, just 0.2 tenths off the best lap time of the day, while Casey, third in the FP1, didn't improve in the …

These are not official Honda paint job for the 2012 Honda CBR1000RR but the bike doesn't look too bad.

I have the Fuel cap trim from Honda UK. The drawback with these are that they are fake carbon. I have just ordered 08P61-MFJ-100B from the USA (as seen in the picture) This is REAL carbon rather than the fake ones Honda sell in europe. Good job HONDA Powersports USA

The Repsol Honda Team travel to the north of Europe this week in preparation for the seventh round of the MotoGP World Championship.

The Netherlands is the destination for the legendary Dutch TT in Assen, where both Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa will be challenging for victory as the Championship enters a very busy period with three races in a row.

As in the UK, the weather can be very changeable in Assen, but both Honda factory riders will be determined and confident following the double podium they shared at Silverstone on their first race with the new Bridgestone front tyre.

With modifications made in 2006, the Assen circuit has been shortened slightly but it maintains fast changes in direction over the old part of the track where an agile bike is needed and the banked turns make it a spectacle for the fans.

Casey Stoner, who won the Dutch TT in 2008, has celebrated six podiums in Assen and since 2007 has not failed to reach it. Dani Pedrosa, injured last year, als…

This is the last part of my bike refresh. The fairings had a relocated CBR Logo and the tank no longer has the large black sticker with HRC printed on it. I never liked that sticker so was please to see it gone in 2011.

Honda has launched a site relating to history RC211V RC212V and the new RC213V.

You can visit it here

The Repsol Honda Team scored another double podium at the British Grand Prix today, with Casey Stoner in second and Dani Pedrosa, third.

It's the fourth double podium of the season in six races for the factory Honda riders and it comes after a tough weekend working on the set up of the RC213V for the fast, flowing and long Silverstone circuit, further complicated by the unpredictable British weather and the introduction of the new Bridgestone front tyres.

Starting from third position on the grid, Casey took the lead within five laps and tried his best to pull away, with Dani running in seventh after a bad start. Jorge Lorenzo was moving through the pack and when he caught Casey in the middle of the race, the two riders entertained the 66,230 Silverstone spectators with some spectacular overtaking manoeuvres before Lorenzo took the lead.

With eight laps to go, Casey began loosing contact with Jorge, and Dani managed to close the gap to his team mate, both crossing the finish line w…

The Repsol Honda Team will start tomorrow's British Grand Prix from the first and second row of the grid, with Casey Stoner in third position and Dani Pedrosa in fifth.

Once again, the cold temperatures, strong winds and temperamental weather have plagued the MotoGP riders here in Silverstone. This morning track temperatures didn't rise above 16 degrees and then during a very busy qualifying session rain arrived in the final 10 minutes preventing the riders from maximising their final set of soft tyres.

Casey, fastest in FP3, and Dani, more confident than yesterday, managed to make another step forward and both improved their lap times by more than a second in qualifying. Casey's lap time places him third with 2'03.423, just 0.1 tenths off pole position, and Dani finished fifth with 2'03.835, half second off the best time.

CASEY STONER 3rd 2'03.423

"This afternoon was a little disappointing to be honest. We began the session and struggled with the bi…

The British weather played a big role in both sessions, and the MotoGP riders had their first taste of Silverstone's notoriously tricky conditions. After a wet session in the morning where Casey and Dani finished 4th and 7th respectively, the Repsol Honda Team were hoping for a dry afternoon session to begin set up work on the RC213V with the new front tyre. However, a brief shower at the beginning of FP2 prevented the riders making the most of the 45 minute session.

Casey, the winner here last year, managed only 10 laps in dry conditions but it was enough time for him to set the fastest lap time with 2'04.791. Dani, who missed las year's race due to his collarbone injury, completed 14 laps and finished 0.8 tenths off his team mate.CASEY STONER1st 2'04.791"We didn't learn very much from today. In the first session we tried understand the bike in the wet a little better, but it was gradually drying out throughout the session so it was difficult to …