We’ve been waiting with much anticipation for the 2021 Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP to make its debut in MotoAmerica competition, and while we are not quite there yet, there are signs that it may happen before we close the book on the 2020 season.
Uribe Racing’s Jason Uribe, who raced his previous generation Honda CBR1000RR in HONOS Superbike at round five at Ridge Motorsports Park in Shelton, Washington, participated with America Honda in the official press launch of the bike on Monday at Thunderhill Raceway Park in Willows, California. His involvement included a classroom presentation of the bike, and he also got some seat time on the all-new Honda literbike. Uribe came away impressed and is looking forward to racing it in MotoAmerica, possibly at the season-ending round at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California.
“Overall, I’m very impressed,” Uribe said about the bike. “I think it’s a great package to build on, and I’m hoping that I’ll be able to race it at (WeatherTech Raceway) Laguna (Seca) in Stock 1000, depending on what Honda wants, and parts availability because it’s brand-new. My overall impression of the bike is that it handles really well. The bike I rode was bone-stock, literally right off the showroom floor, so all the emissions equipment on it kind of dumbed down the bottom end but as soon as you get it up in the higher RPMs, it screams, that’s for sure.
“The aero package on it is really nice, and the winglets definitely help around the high-speed corners. There are definitely a lot of high-speed corners at Thunderhill, and the benefits of the aero package are very noticeable.
“I raced my current Honda Superbike at Thunderhill last weekend right before the launch, and I was definitely able to carry a lot more mid-corner speed and exit speed on the new bike, even with it in stock form, than I have ever been able to carry on my Superbike. So, that’s definitely a big step-up.
“The chassis is very flexible. They did a LOT of work to try to get the bike to be more rider-friendly and more responsive, and they did a great job on that.
“Overall, I am very impressed with this new Honda. Again, I’m hoping to be able to ride it in Stock 1000 at Laguna, if we can get one in time. There are only 99 of them in the United States at this time, and I’m sure at least 90 of them are already sold. So, hopefully, we’ll be able to make it happen for Laguna, and we’ll go from there.”
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