There are certain perks that come with winning six MotoGP World Championship titles and for Marc Marquez one of them is being able to get his hands on the much anticipated 2020 Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade long before anyone else.
One of the stars of the 2019 EICMA show, the venerable Fireblade has gained an extra ‘R’ and indicates a significant step forward in terms of performance specifications for a machine that has often preferred to major balance and day-to-day usability over outright power but this looks all set to change with this generation.
Quoted with 160Kw, which works out at between 210-214HP, the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade joins the 200+ club to put it into direct line with rivals Ducati and ahead of Kawasaki.
This is no coincidence as Honda is using this machine as its weapon to get back on top in the WorldSBK Championship having floundered for several years with an outgoing Fireblade that has simply lacked the power of its rivals to pose much of a threat.
This isn’t just a case of developing a new, more powerful machine to win on Sunday, sell on Monday, the new Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade WorldSBK entry will be built and developed from the official HRC workshop in Spain alongside its dominant MotoGP Honda RC213Vs.
This is where Marquez comes in, though it’s not clear if he has had a hand in development (most likely not). Even so, with the same minds that created his RC213V also working on the CBR1000RR-R there are high hopes for the bikes to be raced by Alvaro Bautista and Leon Haslam in the 2020 WorldSBK.
Interestingly, these press shots and video from the Circuit de Catalunya - which joins the 2020 WorldSBK calendar - were taken way back in August 12, showing how well Honda managed to keep this machine under wraps before its reveal on November 4…
