PHOTOS: RICH SHEPHERD & JEFF KARDAS
PHOTOS: RICH SHEPHERD & JEFF KARDAS
t’s crazy to think that factory Honda’s championship-free streak has gone on this long. They started racing (and winning) on the AMA circuit in 1973, but now they’re in their longest premier-class title drought. At the end of 2004, after winning all five AMA Supercross and Motocross series aboard red, Ricky Carmichael split and headed to Suzuki. Since then, Honda hasn’t won a single premier-class title. The brand that had most of the best riders and bikes for practically all of the eighties and nineties has fallen on tough times. Is 2019 the year that this blue streak ends for Big Red?
First, let’s give them credit for trying. While this drought has lasted for years, you can’t say it’s for lack of effort. The most recent attempt was signing Ken Roczen to a big-dollar three-year deal that was inked before he even started his final year with RCH Suzuki. Honda had identified Roczen as the guy who could get them back on top, and they were very aggressive in going for him.
Unfortunately, as we all know, Roczen immediately delivered two SX wins for Honda to start 2017, then had a horrendous crash at round three, a shattered left arm costing him the rest of the season. He got back to racing last January, only to injure his right arm. Roczen’s been battling to regain form ever since, and though he didn’t win any of the first three SX rounds of 2019, his consistently good finishes earned him the points leader’s red plate.
“I think about that weekly, so we look at everything,” Honda HRC race team manager Erik Kehoe says of the pressure he feels from Japan to win. “We look at all the details and are constantly looking at how to improve things. We know where we want to be.
We want to be there for that championship. We want to support our guys to be there to be able to do that job.
“If you do this [racing], everybody in the industry feels some kind of a pressure from somebody, but I guess for us it’s a little bit more,” says Takashi “Sam” Mishima, Honda Racing’s technical director. “There’s always a pressure, not just from Japan but upstairs from American Honda and pretty much everywhere, especially when I came here and we started dealing with HRC more than we were.”
What’s it going to take for Honda to get back on top? And what exactly happened? We spoke to a number of people at Honda, both on and off the record, as well as some former employees to try and get to the bottom of everything.
“I think about that weekly, so we look at everything,” Honda HRC race team manager Erik Kehoe says of the pressure he feels from Japan to win. “We look at all the details and are constantly looking at how to improve things. We know where we want to be.
We want to be there for that championship. We want to support our guys to be there to be able to do that job.
“If you do this [racing], everybody in the industry feels some kind of a pressure from somebody, but I guess for us it’s a little bit more,” says Takashi “Sam” Mishima, Honda Racing’s technical director. “There’s always a pressure, not just from Japan but upstairs from American Honda and pretty much everywhere, especially when I came here and we started dealing with HRC more than we were.”
What’s it going to take for Honda to get back on top? And what exactly happened? We spoke to a number of people at Honda, both on and off the record, as well as some former employees to try and get to the bottom of everything.
t all started when Carmichael left. The CRF450R was at the top of the outdoor class back in 2004, and the technicians were some of the best in the pits. Carmichael had to sit out supercross due to a November ’03 knee injury, and that’s when Suzuki came calling. Suzuki—then led by Roger DeCoster, the manager for Honda’s eighties dominance—gave Carmichael a guaranteed offer that was equal to his base Honda contract, plus all the bonuses he’d won throughout the year. Honda reportedly wanted to keep Carmichael on a deal with bonuses, as they didn’t know how he might heal from what turned out to be the sole major injury of his career; they balked at matching Suzuki’s offer. So Ricky split for the guaranteed contract, sweeping both titles in ’05 and ’06 before retiring in 2007. (For what it’s worth, people who were at Honda at the time say that if Carmichael had won on a Honda as much as he did on the Suzuki, he would’ve made even more money, and he certainly seemed to like the CRF450R—he won every single moto he ever rode on one.)
“There was an overall sense of arrogance from upper management at the time,” someone close to the situation told me, asking not to be identified. “They were more about road racing back then, and when the contract talks reached the vice president, that’s when the Carmichael deal fell apart.”
“I know that some people have a philosophy about race incentives and other people want to get paid up front, so there were just differences there,” offers Kehoe.
Honda went into that next year with Kevin Windham and Mike LaRocco on what is now the GEICO Honda squad, plus Travis Preston, Andrew Short, and Ernesto Fonseca on the factory team. There was also the courting of James Stewart at the end of 2003 when he test-rode a Honda before deciding to re-sign with Kawasaki.
And then there was amateur phenom Mike Alessi, in whom Honda had heavily invested while he was on minicycles. People who were there tell me that Alessi wasn’t really counted on to replace RC; it’s just that the team never thought Ricky would actually leave. After all, they had won all five championships in SX/MX that they were together for. But leave he did, and suddenly there was a massive hole for Alessi and the others to fill. Unfortunately, we’ll never know if Honda and Alessi could’ve made magic together, because the family butted heads with some key people and Mike left for KTM after just two pro races (and one podium) on a Honda as a privateer.
n 2007, Honda stepped up and signed Alessi’s archrival Davi Millsaps to a lucrative deal. Millsaps was considered a potential title winner but just couldn’t get over the hump. He won races in 450SX, but injuries and motivation issues kept him from fulfilling his potential. On the other hand, Honda swung and missed on the 2009 CRF450R. Millsaps, Short, and Ivan Tedesco weren’t fans of the bike; a former Honda guy told me off the record that it took two years to figure that bike out and get it working as it should.
Next came Ben Townley. He got big money but was unfortunate to only make two races in two years due to injuries. It was like some sort of karmic bounce-back from the years of good health from Jeremy McGrath and Carmichael.
Meanwhile, Suzuki brought up its own amateur rider in Ryan Dungey, and Kawasaki did the same with Ryan Villopoto. These two riders would basically win everything in the sport for the next five years.
Raised by GEICO Honda, Justin Barcia looked like he could break the streak, as he won two 450SX races as a class rookie in 2013. But Kehoe, whom Barcia and his family had bonded with, left the team, and they didn’t seem to jell with his replacement or the revamped (again) bike, suffering through a poor 2014. Barcia then took off for a JGR Yamaha ride.
onda of Japan finally decided to step in and see what the hell was going on in the USA. The factory got more involved with the race team than it had been since the glory years of Bailey, Rick Johnson, Jeff Stanton, Jean-Michel Bayle, and McGrath. Sam Mishima moved over from Honda R&D Americas (HRA) to oversee the whole SX/MX racing program, some longtime race team people were let go, and Honda started flexing its once-great technological advantages.
“Sam is instrumental in our communication with Japan,” Kehoe explains. “HGA or HRC both have staff that are very intent on winning. They want to have the best equipment that we can supply our guys with the tools that they need to do the job.”
Current GEICO Honda manager Dan Betley was Jeff Stanton’s mechanic for six championships. He was also the motor guy at one point, and its most recent team manager before Kehoe’s return. He was there for Johnson, Bayle, McGrath, and Carmichael. He loves Honda and wants nothing more than for the big red machine to be the juggernaut it once was.
“It’s mind-boggling how it’s gone from basically being in a position of total dominance to now,” Betley says. “Honda had the best bike, the best people back then from Japan and the USA. Like any sport, there’s a roller-coaster of winning and losing—no one is going to stay on top forever. There were just things going on that were in our control and some out of our control.” You can hear the passion for the brand in his voice. “This last little while, I felt like there was this black cloud following this team. I mean, the goal when I came in there was to win championships and put them back on the map, and it’s not for a lack of trying that we didn’t.”
Kehoe himself raced against the mighty Honda machine for a long time on inferior equipment. In the eighties, he saw riders he was equal to, like Micky Dymond and George Holland, jump to Honda and immediately win 125 National Championships. Now he manages the brand. What does he think about the drought and the impact of HRC coming back?
“It’s different now than when I raced,” he responds. “A lot of other teams stepped up. Riders, the tracks, the bikes, the sport—everything is constantly evolving. I think as personnel changes—as things evolve—focus changes too. So I think that right now, with HRC involved, they are really focused on getting another championship. I think it shows our commitment to Kenny and Cole, working on the bike to get them comfortable. And we want to supply the public, too, with the best production bike that we can, as well as prove that by going out and winning races.”
Roczen is a rider Betley knows well and watches from afar now as he works with the 250 class.
“I feel where Kenny’s at today is a fricking miracle, and it’s amazing to see him out on the track,” Betley says. “My money is on Kenny to win this. I’ve watched him mature, and I know where he’s come from, so that’s where my money is.”
David Bailey watches from the sidelines hoping the brand he dreamed of riding for gets back on top.
“The dry spell has probably been a combination of things: less Honda pride, less hunger, less budget, less solid data to keep the bikes dialed,” he offers. “It appeared Roczen was about to return them to the top step and reinvigorate that Honda pride I witnessed while there, but then he got hurt. I’m a big fan now of all he has endured, and yes, I’m a Honda guy, so I want to see him and Honda return to their championship winning days together.”
Everyone who rides red or works at Honda hopes Bailey’s wish comes true soon. For their part, the red giant has awoken and appears to be hungry again. Whether or not that finally pays off with a title in 2019 remains to be seen. 
Current GEICO Honda manager Dan Betley was Jeff Stanton’s mechanic for six championships. He was also the motor guy at one point, and its most recent team manager before Kehoe’s return. He was there for Johnson, Bayle, McGrath, and Carmichael. He loves Honda and wants nothing more than for the big red machine to be the juggernaut it once was.
“It’s mind-boggling how it’s gone from basically being in a position of total dominance to now,” Betley says. “Honda had the best bike, the best people back then from Japan and the USA. Like any sport, there’s a roller-coaster of winning and losing—no one is going to stay on top forever. There were just things going on that were in our control and some out of our control.” You can hear the passion for the brand in his voice. “This last little while, I felt like there was this black cloud following this team. I mean, the goal when I came in there was to win championships and put them back on the map, and it’s not for a lack of trying that we didn’t.”
Kehoe himself raced against the mighty Honda machine for a long time on inferior equipment. In the eighties, he saw riders he was equal to, like Micky Dymond and George Holland, jump to Honda and immediately win 125 National Championships. Now he manages the brand. What does he think about the drought and the impact of HRC coming back?
“It’s different now than when I raced,” he responds. “A lot of other teams stepped up. Riders, the tracks, the bikes, the sport—everything is constantly evolving. I think as personnel changes—as things evolve—focus changes too. So I think that right now, with HRC involved, they are really focused on getting another championship. I think it shows our commitment to Kenny and Cole, working on the bike to get them comfortable. And we want to supply the public, too, with the best production bike that we can, as well as prove that by going out and winning races.”
Roczen is a rider Betley knows well and watches from afar now as he works with the 250 class.
“I feel where Kenny’s at today is a fricking miracle, and it’s amazing to see him out on the track,” Betley says. “My money is on Kenny to win this. I’ve watched him mature, and I know where he’s come from, so that’s where my money is.”
David Bailey watches from the sidelines hoping the brand he dreamed of riding for gets back on top.
“The dry spell has probably been a combination of things: less Honda pride, less hunger, less budget, less solid data to keep the bikes dialed,” he offers. “It appeared Roczen was about to return them to the top step and reinvigorate that Honda pride I witnessed while there, but then he got hurt. I’m a big fan now of all he has endured, and yes, I’m a Honda guy, so I want to see him and Honda return to their championship winning days together.”
Everyone who rides red or works at Honda hopes Bailey’s wish comes true soon. For their part, the red giant has awoken and appears to be hungry again. Whether or not that finally pays off with a title in 2019 remains to be seen.