The debut World Championship season for the Honda ORC Team came to an abrupt end after the serious accident suffered by Mathias BELLINO (F) in August 2018. But for 2019, we will see the return of the French team with a brand new Team Manager, none other than… Mathias BELLINO!
For this new season, the Honda ORC team supported by Yves RODES and Mathias BELLINO are putting their efforts into supporting youngsters, and they will field Alexis BEAUD and Antoine CRIQ.
The former will ride in the Junior 2 category with a Honda 300 RX while CRIQ, former TM XCentric rider, will represent his new team in Junior 1 with the 250 RX.
For all seven rounds of the Maxxis FIM Enduro World Championship, the two young hopefuls will also receive assistance from the official Honda RedMoto Team.
Meanwhile, Yohan LAFONT – who will usually ride for the team in the French Championship – could make a wildcard appearance in the final World round in Ambert, France.
Mathias BELLINO: “After my accident I was keen to continue my career in World Enduro – a place where I’ve built my life. When Yves RODES offered me the job of Team Manager I didn’t hesitate to accept, and we now have three riders who I think have real potential and I intend to help them evolve and grow over the course of the races. We will, of course, have the humility not to aim too high in a championship where most of the teams are already very well established. Alexis and Antoine will have to get used to the pace of the World Championship, but we hope to see them in the Top 5 of their categories, which would be a great starting point this year with a view to building up to the top positions next year. I’d like to thank all the partners of the team for their involvement and help, beyond the functioning of the team their presence is a real asset in this challenge that represents my new life, and for that I am very grateful to them. We will do our best to make them proud.”
It’s fantastic to see Mathias BELLINO continue his involvement in Enduro as a Manager. And this latest news also means two more Hondas to a full and bustling EnduroGP paddock this season…