Honda completes final endurance testing

Honda’s Julien da Costa putting the Fireblade through its paces at Magny-Cours 

Honda’s factory long distance motorcycle team has touched off final preparations for the Endurance World Championship.

The three factory riders Julien Da Costa, Freddy Foray and Sebastien Gimbert along with reserve rider Jason O’Hallaran were used at the two-day test at Magny-Cours where the EWC starts with the Bol d’Or 24 Hour race from April 26-27.

Following a total of 450 laps the team worked on fuel and tyre strategy for the CBR1000RR Fireblade SP bikes.

The tests follow hit-outs at Mireval, Albacete and Aragon in the lead-up to the EWC season.

Julien da Costa said: “I feel so at home on the bike already. The bike is very easy to ride and we have made a lot of improvements throughout the testing program.

“We have a very good basic set-up and we’ve done a lot of fuel and tyre testing.”