The following is from American Honda…
- CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP to be campaigned in three classes
- Real Steel leading Honda’s U.S. road racing effort
- Jones Honda also fielding a serious road racing program
Ahead of MotoAmerica’s opening 2025 Superbike round in Birmingham, Alabama, this weekend, American Honda today announced their expanded involvement in the top U.S. road racing series. The program is headlined by a trio of racers aboard Honda’s flagship CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP, competing in three classes: the premier Superbike division, the production-based Stock 1000 category, and the Superbike Cup (a class within the Superbike class, for Stock 1000 racers who wish to campaign their bikes in that division).
Leading the charge is the Real Steel Honda Racing team, which features direct backing from American Honda, along with additional support from Chattanooga, Tennessee, dealership Southern Honda Powersports. Jerry Nickell is the Team Principal, with Mark Junge serving as Technical Director and Robbie Petersen in the Team Coordinator role.
The squad earned last year’s Stock 1000 title at the hands of Hayden Gillim, who this year will campaign the Fireblade in the Superbike division. A 30-year-old native of Owensboro, Kentucky, Gillim is a racing veteran, having won his first Amateur Dirt Track Grand Championship at age 6. A cousin of the famous racing Hayden brothers (who he is named after), Gillim typically runs number 69 as an homage to the late Nicky Hayden. He also has past accomplishments with other brands, including the 2023 Stock 1000 and King of the Baggers crowns.
In addition, Real Steel will field JD Beach in Stock 1000 and the Superbike Cup. Another veteran racer (he is 33) with experience in both dirt track and road racing, Beach has titles including the 2008 Red Bull Rookies Cup, the 2010 AMA Pro Supersport East crown and two MotoAmerica Supersport Championships (2015 and 2018). Although he was born in Washington State, Beach grew up with the Hayden and Gillim families in Kentucky.
“A couple years ago, Jerry and Hayden had the vision of creating a national-level Superbike team, and Honda was in their sights,” Petersen said. “They really made a statement last year, and they’ve established a relationship with Southern Honda Powersports and American Honda. We’re very proud to be in a position where the team is welcoming Honda back into Superbike. Expectations in Superbike are a bit of a building process; it’s a big step up, but we’ve got realistic goals. I think we’re going to be on the podium sooner than some might expect, as the bike has a huge amount of potential.”
Also of note is the private Jones Honda squad, which operates out of the Columbia, Missouri, dealership of the same name. The team is again supporting Georgia-native Ashton Yates, who earned the 2024 Superbike Cup crown aboard a CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP. The son of former factory AMA Superbike racer Aaron Yates (who is the team’s lead mechanic), Ashton will campaign both Superbike and Stock 1000. Darrel Jones is the Team Principal, John Blike is the Team Coordinator and Cameron Jones heads up data management. CJR Performance handles dyno tuning and electronics, and backing comes from American Honda, Progressive and Pro Honda Oils & Chemicals.
“Last year, we were using the same bike for both classes, and it was amazing how well that Honda held up,” said Cameron Jones, who is a former MotoAmerica racer himself. “We ran the same clutch all year, and we never had a mechanical; that’s really what wins championships—getting points and staying on top of the box. This year we’re using two bikes, including a semi-stock bike in Superbike. We’d be ecstatic to get into the top five or six in that class, and for Stock 1000, the goal is to bring home the championship.”
The Jones Honda project is an example of what is possible with Honda’s generous MotoAmerica offering in the 2025 Red Rider Rewards contingency program. Available to riders of various Honda powersports models, the program offers a total of $1,425,500 in MotoAmerica alone, from $25,000 for a Superbike-class race win, to $50 for a third-place finish in a Mini Cup Stock 50 regional race.
“Honda has a proud heritage in U.S. road racing, so it’s exciting to be stepping up our representation in MotoAmerica for 2025,” said Brandon Wilson, Manager of Racing and Advertising at American Honda. “The Real Steel Honda Racing and Jones Honda teams are both very solid efforts headed by great people, and they’ve signed some talented riders. We’re looking forward to them showing what the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP is capable of.”
The Real Steel and Jones Honda teams are also both fielding efforts in MotoAmerica’s Talent Cup, the first round of which was held this past weekend in conjunction with the U.S. MotoGP stop in Austin, Texas. Intended to develop up-and-comers for eventual international-level racing, the division features young riders competing aboard Kramer motorcycles tuned by different teams. Real Steel is campaigning the class with 14-year-old Ian Fraley, while Jones Honda is entering 16-year old Julian Correa. In the two races at the opening doubleheader, Fraley and Correa posted results of 13-14 and 5-4, respectively.
Following this coming weekend’s race at Barber Motorsports Park, MotoAmerica goes on to visit eight more circuits before concluding at New Jersey Motorsports Park on September 28.
