Masterbike 2008 Results: The new Honda Fireblades' a scorcher

Last year the event was held at the Jerez circuit in Spain and the MV Agusta F4R 312 took home the top honours blowing away its competition that included the Ducati 1098 and also the Yamaha R1! This year’s league was truly extraordinary with a mix of superbikes from across the globe including Jap offerings like the Suzuki GSXR1000, the Honda CBR 1000RR, the Kawasaki ZX10R and the Yamaha R6, accompanied by their European counterparts like the MV Agusta F4R 312, the Aprilia and ofcourse this year’s major attraction the KTM RC8 – all competing for the top spot in their respective classes. Control tyre rule is applied in Masterbike Challenge so that all the machinery runs on same set of rubber keeping it fair. However this worked against the Ducati 1098r as the Dunlop tyres brushed against the Duke’s radiator and it was forced to pull out of the test! The Albacete racetrack in Spain played host for this year’s Masterbike Challenge and the jury included top ex-racers and motorcycle journos like Randy Mamola (500cc Grand Prix legend), Adam Child (MCN road-tester) Jurgen Fuchs (250cc and 500cc Grand Prix rider), Oriol Fernandez (Spanish Supersport champion and test rider for Michelin MotoGP), to name a few.

Superbikes 1000cc Winner: Honda CBR 1000RR

Since its launch every review of the new Fireblade has said only one thing about the bike – it’s the ultimate track-tool! The 2008 CBR 1000RR is heavily based on Honda’s MotoGP race-bike, the RC212V with a lot of inputs during its development coming from the racing division of Honda that manages its MotoGP racing team. The engine is 2.5kg lighter than its previous model and its internals have also been lightened so that the revs take lesser time to climb. Wow! Honda has been saving every milligram to gain every millisecond. Yeah, it’s that serious and it shows, like it did in the Masterbike test by recording the fastest lap time of 1:36.580 at the Albacete circuit.

The rev-happy motor and improved electronic steering damper coupled with its supremely lithe chassis, make this Honda the most committed and race-focused toy in the 2008 litre bike box. It is very fast yet extremely manageable and it feels like a Supersport 600cc bike powered by a litre engine. The only other bike that came close to challenge the lap times of the Fireblade was the Kawsaki ZX10R falling short by just one-tenth of a second.

Supersports 600cc Winner: Yamaha R6

The Yamaha R6 is a screamer. Period. If you are hurrying back home after a visit to the pub on the R6, it will lit up every single house in the neighbourhood with its loud exhaust note. But then, on the track, this rev-crazy engine is what helps you the most. Keep her in the higher revs and you will never feel short of power on this edgy-looking Yam. The nimble chassis, superbly setup suspension and punchy power-delivery upwards of 8000rpm, means in the right hands the bike that will scorch the track faster than anything in its class.

At the test, it couldn't have been in better hands than Jurgen Fuch, who recoded the best lap time of 1:37.211 - only a second slower than the Fireblade. It also recorded the best top speed of 217.2km/h on the long straight of the circuit. All the riders agreed that the R6 was the last word in the Supersports class and that it falls in a league of its own. Last year’s winner, the Triumph Daytona 675 was close on the heels of the R6 but could not impress the jury enough to make it to the top again this year. Surprisingly, the CBR 600RR was the slowest finishing last with a best lap time of 1:38.511.

Thanks to the entry of the KTM RC8, this year the competition for Italian bike-maker Arpilia, who won the Masterbike 2006 with the same machinery, was much stiffer than ever before. The KTM RC8 has been gathering accolades throughout the industry for its handling and it track-friendly nature. At the 2008 Masterbike Test, the RC8 recorded a best lap time of 1:63.930, which is marginally faster than the Aprilia’s time of 1:37.181. It also recorded the best in-class top speed of 228km/h as against the RSV1000R’s top whack of 227km/h on the long straight. So where did it fall short?

While most testers were delighted with the performance and feel of the KTM, only a handful of them could actually record their best lap times on the RC8. Most of them posted their best times riding the Aprilia RSV100R. This is hugely because of the top class equipment that comes on the Aprilia. The Brembo brakes and the world renowned Ohlins suspension together provide extremely precise feedback to the rider. This makes it easier to understand the bike’s limit as well as the traction limit available on the tyres helping the rider to exploit the full potential of the bike, regardless of the riding style he or she has.

So although the RSV couldn’t post the best lap time on the track, rider votes went in its favour announcing it as the winner in its class and slipping the RC8 to the second place. Now most of us might not be very happy reading this, but if one looks at it more closely, the jury has a point to make.