HONDA have announced their racing activities for the 2012 motorsport seasons and amongst the overview of their MotoGP aspirations and HRC’s commitments is the name of Ryuichi Kiyonari under the heading of FIM Asia Road Race Championship Series.
A mercurial talent, with three British Superbike title wins to his name, Kiyo has been lined up to spearhead Honda’s efforts in the Asian series – riding a CBR600RR for the Boon Siew Honda Racing, the Japanese manufacturer’s local affiliate in Malaysia.
The Japanese rider was unable to defend his number 1 plate in 2011 and demonstrated an off-par performance last season, with only two victories to his name.
Dropping from a factory Honda Fireblade in the British Superbike championship to race a CBR600RR across Asia may appear to be a relegation for Kiyonari. But is it? For Honda, Asia contains the emerging markets that are important to the Japanese manufacturer.
So rather than Kiyo being relegated, perhaps it is a promotion and it is us, the UK bike market which has been downgraded in the eyes of Honda.
