Race Motor lineage

OK....A previous post - can't find it now - questioned the connection of the gen4 & gen5 VFR's to racing. to wit I pose the following:

What was Colin Edwards riding in 1998; and Edwards & Aaron Slight riding in 1999 in WSB. this was post 750cc, right? and Edwards rode the RC-51 in it's debut in 2000 - and won. I always thought the '98 & '99 Honda WSB entry was the RC-46....the 781cc, SSS, injected V4.
not true?

 

From wiki:
Fortunately Edwards was able to conclude a deal with Honda to ride the RC45 motorcycle in the 1998 Superbike World Championship.

 

in 1997, john kocinski was competing on the RC45 and won the wsbk championship. the RC45 was ridden by aaron slight and colin edwards in 1998 and 1999. The RC46 was never used, at that time honda was using the RC51 in wsbk, which won the championship in 2000 at the hands of colin edwards.

you could go back even further with the rc30 and fred merkel.

Everybody needs to get over it, the rc46 was never raced and never a champion.

If anybody is interested, i have some actual pics that i could scan and post that covers the history.




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Here are a couple that I have taken over the years that sort of chronicle the subject line of this thread



Bubba Shoberts 1986 AMA Championship winning machine in the paddock at Laguna Seca in 1987.



Miguel Duhamel and Mike Hale RC-45's in 1995 at AMA Superbike Round at Firebird Raceway in Phoenix....the RC45 won 8 races that year.



Miguel Duhamel and Mike Hale at Sears Point, also in early 1995



John Kocinski and Keith Code in the paddock at Laguna Seca in 1997 - Kocinski did the double that day



Colin Edwards #45 RC45 in the paddock at the U.S. WSBK Round at Laguna Seca in 1998.



On the track during WSBK for Colin Edwards Superpole attempt, 1999 Laguna Seca WSBK.



Colin and his RC45 on pit lane during WSBK practice at Laguna Seca 1999.



Colins RC51 in Captain America trim, Laguna Seca 2002.

They are scans of actual pics, so the quality isn't great...enjoy

 

Norkleboy's pix may be sticky..

Yep, those fast guys ride the very same shit we buy from the dealers.. Just like them Fords and Chevys at Nascar events..

 

Great stuff thanks! Just to clarify, I have "gotten over it".....it's just that i was at those races at Laguna Seca in the late 90's and my feeble memory remembers an increase in displacement in the Homalgomation. IIRC, the 750's went to 781cc; and the 916 went to 944cc....something like a 5% increase was allowed. I had thought (incorrectly) that the RC46 was the change. your fotos clearly show no side radiators...thus '98 &'99 were RC45's.
Much appreciated.

 

There never was an alllowed displacement increase for the V4's. The displacement increase came in the form of building the RC-51, which took advantage of rules that allowed twins to have a displacement of up to 999 cc's. That rule change took place in 1988.

FWIW, nicky hayden also won the ama superbike championship in 2002 on the RC51.




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Although that pic of the '86 is just shocking. It really doesn't look any different than my '86 (aside from saying 750 and all the stickers). I hadn't realized how much of a race replica it was.