We announced a few days ago that Honda America was fielding a wild card Moto2 entry at the Indy GP, but at the time the details, like who was to ride the bike, were a bit sketchy. Well now we know the details, and the Honda America Moto2 team sounds killer.
For starters the legend himself Kevin Schwantz will be heading the race team. The crew and technical know-how will be coming from Erion Racing, who know Honda race bikes almost better than the winged brand itself. At the helm of the Moriwaki MD600 will be Roger Lee Hayden, who is taking a quick break from his duties racing for Team Green in WSBK. Did you get all that?
Roger Lee Hayden has done alot with American Honda, taking 12 national road race victories on 600cc machines before jumping to the WBK circuit. Hayden is 27, which makes him just eligible to ride as a Moto2 wild card. Moto2 regulations require all wild card riders to be 28 years old or younger.
“This is a great opportunity for me to race in front of my home crowd at a MotoGP event,” said Roger, who is currently competing in the World Superbike Championship. “The Moto2 class is really competitive and I’m looking forward to jumping in the middle of it.”
Kevin Schwantz will be imparting his knowledge as a former GP champion, and serve the American entry as its Team Manager. “It’s an honor for me to be chosen as team manager,” said Schwantz. “We’ve been using CBR600RRs for some time now at our schools, and I’ve ridden a Moto2 bike and it’s very good. I watched the first three Moto2 races and I expect the racing to be just as good at Indy.”
Helping keep the wheels turning on the MD600 Moto2 race bike provided by Moriwaki will be Erion Racing, lead by Kevin Erion himself. Erion Honda has been a force in AMA Pro Racing, and in 15 years of partnering with Honda America, the team has seen 16 national championships. Do the math on that.
For many this is an American dream team for Moto2 racing, but our favorite part is that the American Honda Indy GP Moto2 team will also benefit the Ride for Kids® (RFK) program and the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation® (PBTF) through special fund-raising activities. At Indy, for example, Schwantz will lead the Lap of Champions, where 300 participants will join him in a lap around the track in a special fund-raiser that benefits the PBTF by raising funds to promote childhood brain tumor research.
This is cause that’s near and dear to our hearts here at Asphalt & Rubber. We wish the team good luck, and hope our readers will help raise money for these worthy causes.
Source: Honda America
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