Team HRC Honda made huge strides in the 2014 Dakar Rally when compared to 2013, and the team is already preparing for next year’s rally.
With six stage victories in 2014 Dakar Rally–-five of them by Joan Barreda–in which the team was constantly in an overall podium position until the penultimate stage, Team HRC Honda feels that it made tremendous progress in its quest to score its first Dakar Rally win in nearly 25 years.
Another highlight for the team was the fact that it was the only team to have completed the entire competition without changing a single engine after two intense weeks of racing in the brutal Dakar environment.
Along with netting six wins out of a possible 13–Joan Barreda took the honors in stages 1, 3, 7, 10 and 13, while Sam Sunderland won Stage 2–the team chalked up 11 stage podium finishes on the new Honda CRF450 Rally.
Hélder Rodrigues was the top finisher for Team HRC, in fifth place overall, while Barreda finished seventh and Javier Pizzolito 23rd. That none of them needed an engine change is an example of the higher level of reliability and durability of the new CRF450 Rally compared to the old one. Sunderland and Gonçalves were both unable to finish the race after incidents in stages 4 and 5 respectively.
The riders from Honda Argentina Rally Team, Laia Sanz and Pablo Rodríguez also saw the race through until the end. Sanz was the top female rider, with a fine seventh-place finish in Stage 9 and a 16th place overall finish, achieving the highest final classification for a woman in the bike category. Rodríguez finished the Dakar in 32th place.
The Team HRC management assessed the performance of Team HRC Honda in the 36th edition of the Rally Dakar:
Katsumi Yamazaki Team HRC Team Director
Our Dakar 2014 is over, one in which so many things have happened in the span of two weeks. The most amazing of all was what happened to Paulo Gonçalves’ bike. He had a problem, the bike caught alight and we lost his participation. Sam too, had to drop out of the race.
On the other hand Pizzolito, Hélder and Barreda put in consistent daily performances, always giving their best every day. I’m very pleased with these riders. Not only the riders, but also all the team behind them. Everyone did their job well. I’m proud to have such a work team. Besides, we have only used the machine for our own Team HRC riders. It’s a very positive sign for Honda, who have built and developed the engine and the bike, with very clear criteria; to be highly durable, reliable and with a great performance. I’ve very pleased with them.
To be honest, this 2014 result hasn’t been a particularly generous one, but we never gave up trying to achieve our goal; victory. So, next time round in the Dakar, we’ll try and remedy this target that has escaped us.
I’d also like to commend the support-riders: Pablo Rodríguez, Laia Sanz and Jean De Azevedo. They have done a fine job.
It has been a very positive year for Honda so far. It has been a great start for the next Dakar. Because, for me, next year’s Dakar 2015 began yesterday. Thanks for all the support over the last few months.
Martino Bianchi Team HRC General Manager
I’m very pleased with this Dakar. Maybe not totally, but happy all the same. And I’m pleased because everyone did such a great job. It’s a tricky task handling two teams, five riders and putting everyone in their place with the same clear aim. We came really close to it. Barreda won five stages, and Honda took the honors in six, double the amount of any other team. It’s proof that we’ve got a great bike and fine riders; maybe we are lacking a bit of experience in this demanding and grueling race, but I’m sure that we will be in the running for victory in the next Dakar.
That is why we should be pleased with the results that we’ve achieved up until now, especially when you consider that we didn’t need an engine change in the entire 9000 kilometers of racing. This has been the big test of the reliability of our engine.
We are also really proud of our “support team” on the pre-production model who also managed to finish the race. We began to develop the bike last April, and Laia Sanz and Cacha Rodríguez have shown that it is a fine, very competitive bike. Honda and HRC have done a great job with the new Honda CRF450 Rally.
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