In the high-budget world of Formula One and MotoGP racing, pre-season team introductions aren’t only commonplace, but also annual affairs. Invitations to these events aren’t only coveted and extremely limited, but also include expenses paid and access to team members that doesn’t normally exist.
Need an example? Look no further than the annual Wrooom event hosted by Philip Morris (who owns the Marlboro Cigarette brand), which was held at an Italian ski village in the Alps. Each season, this light-hearted event served as the “official launch” for the Ferrari Formula One team as well as the Ducati MotoGP team. No expense was spared. One year they even studded up the tires on a MotoGP bike and ran it on an ice-hockey rink.
However, in motocross, annual team introductions are few and far between. Most teams issue a press release or an official statement listing a team’s riders and sponsors for the upcoming season, but very few actually hold an official press event.
However, on Friday, November 14, American Honda Motor, along with their new PR agency, Dispatch Communications, hosted invited media members to the famed Castillo Ranch. The team lifted the wraps on the 2015 supercross and motocross team, which consists of riders Trey Canard and Cole Seely, who will battle it out on the 2015 Honda CRF450R. The setting was beautiful. The rolling wine country hills behind Castillo Ranch Supercross track makes the place arguably the most picturesque track in America.
The news that Canard and Seely were riding for American Honda has been known for several months, but Dan Betley, when introducing himself, did make mention that HRC (Honda Racing Corporation) has officially stepped up their role within the team and will be playing a major part with the team’s research, development, and engineering. Bentley also made it clear that his goal is to return the team to the level of prestige and success that Team Honda once enjoyed in the 1980s, which he played a part of while wrenching for Jeff Stanton.
But while the team hopes for results like they enjoyed in the past, this team press intro is modern thinking. Once the season begins in earnest, results very much tell the story of a team. But at an event like this, the team sets whatever message they want that will stick for the next month and a half. Considering the importance of outside sponsorship and social media, which has grown immensely over the last decade, it’s key for teams to increase exposure. Team Honda just made a huge upgrade on that front. We’ve seen some other behind-the-scenes changes with this team lately as well, and we’ll get into them with additional coverage of the event this week. Suffice to say, while this team won’t look dramatically different from the outside (we’ve seen Canard and Seely on CRF450Rs plenty of times already), there’s much more change than you’d think.
Both Canard and Seely spun countless laps around the picturesque Castillo supercross track, and it’s certain that the team’s PR and autograph stock will be printed from images taken on this day.
Racer X was on hand and obtained several interviews, both video and long form (meaning the kind you read), and we will be posting them this week. Check back for more updates and photos throughout the week from this event.
