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| Engine 998
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Strange, but journalists put the 2004 Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade in second place, when they compare the three Japanese competitor bikes. It’s very strange, because on the championship tracks everything is different. Judge for yourself: the riders of the Dutch team Ten Kate Racing (TKR) became champions at World Supersport, and now they are participating in the WSB - Superbike World Championship in the racing version of the Blade, fully prepared in Holland, and also not without success. World Supersport champion 21-year-old Austrian Chris Vermelen speaks at Blade. So why is the CBR1000RR only second in the ranking? In my opinion, unfair.
The Dutch tuning guru Gerrit ten Keith and his cousin and business partner Ronald had to develop the racing version of the Blade themselves. The source was a regular production motorcycle, and not one of the “special” factory racing models, such as those used in the races of national championships by the teams of Honda America and Honda Britain. These "special" motorcycles were created at HRC (Honda Racing Corporation - the racing division of Honda Motor Co.) in Japan along with the Sete Gibernau RC211V bike.
And the results of Vermelen’s performances this season are amazing. After all, he leads an unequal struggle for a place on the podium with the whole Ducati clan - and is not inferior. What is worth only his absolute speed record in World Superbike! Vermelen flew along the direct “start-finish” of the Monza highway at a speed of 313 km / h (I want to note that the team’s telemetry devices recorded as much as 322 km / h). Please note: the record is set on a converted road builder. This is a landmark fact: it symbolizes a return to the core values of Superbike.
And three days after the speed triumph at Monza, I was invited to join the Ten Kate Racing team on the Assen track. They called us to test not Vermelen's superbike, but a replica of his bike homologated for road driving. She has a 200-horsepower engine and a tricky suspension identical to the one mounted on the bike of the young Austrian champion. Honda CBR1000RR Ten Kate Edition (TKE) is painted in yellow and black colors of the team that invited me. A limited batch of sportbikes equipped with headlights has been issued; motorcycles can be purchased for 29, 900 euros (Dutch 19% tax is included in the price). The set includes two coasters (without them it is difficult to do in the paddock), four sets of gearboxes and rear stars. Ten Kate offers a complete set of racing linings - this is for those who are afraid of damaging the road "uniform" of the motorcycle on track days.
“To be honest, I'm sitting on this street bike in the same position as on my racing bike,” Chris said. - And their technical characteristics do not differ too much … Let's ride a few laps together, - you will see for yourself!
Would you refuse the invitation to the world champion! Together we went to the GP track in Assen.