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MOTOGP: Honda RC212V Faster Than It Looks
Honda's much-maligned RC212V may actually be more competitive that it's shown thus far…
Colin Young  |  Posted May 20, 2010   Le Mans (FRA)
Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa pursued by FIAT Yamaha Team's Jorge Lorenzo (Photo: Honda Pro Images)

PROGRAMMING NOTE: The MotoGP World Championship race from Le Mans, France will air on SPEED on May 25 at 2:00pm EST.

Both Dani Pedrosa and Honda factory bosses say the current RC212V is not yet good enough to win races and the world championship, but it seems an electronic gizmo may have already cost a victory.

A mistake free run -- by both bike and rider -- in Sunday's French Grand Prix may shed more light on true competitiveness of Honda's much-maligned 2010 racer, especially as Pedrosa qualified on pole for this race last year.

It's the third race of the season with the championship led by rising star Jorge Lorenzo following his home victory in the Spanish GP at Jerez two weeks ago. But Pedrosa's Honda, at least on the Jerez evidence, is not that far away from being a race winner.

In an enthralling late race contest Lorenzo snatched the Spanish win by just 0.58s over Pedrosa after a last lap pass. But Honda has confirmed that a faulty fuel sensor robbed Pedrosa's engine of horsepower over the 27-lap race. The bike finished with just over 0.8 liters of fuel, which is at least half a liter too much.

Pedrosa's said that his bike "felt like a 750" over the final laps as Honda's sophisticated engine management system was reducing power to make sure he reached the finish of the race.


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