Mentor, Ohio – Wiseco Performance Products has renewed its partnership with Factory Connection’s GEICO Honda team for the 2019 season. Wiseco will continue to supply pistons to GEICO Honda while working cooperatively with the team on research and development services in an ongoing effort to fortify its engine program for the 2019 Monster Energy Supercross and Lucas Oil Pro Motocross campaigns.
“We’re excited to extend our relationship with Wiseco and keep building the program,” said Dan Betley, Team Manager for GEICO Honda. “Wiseco plays a critical role in in the development of our engine package. Engine development is always a moving target, so it’s important to have partners who understand the competitive landscape and are nimble enough to meet the demands of the sport. We made great strides last season, and think we’ll be a consistent threat for wins and podiums all year.”
GEICO Honda will feature a five-rider lineup for the 2019 season with Christian Craig, Chase Sexton, Jeremy Martin, R.J. Hampshire and Australian Hunter Lawrence handling the riding chores. The team will announce how it will split riders across the Supercross Western Regional and Eastern Regional 250 Classes at a later date.
Last season, Sexton and Craig finished fifth and ninth, respectively, in Monster Energy Supercross Western Regional competition, while Martin and Hampshire were scored third and 11th in the Eastern Regional 250 Class. Craig also spent much of the season aboard a 450 while filling in for Team Honda HRC. Hampshire missed much of the 2018 Supercross season after being injured in a heat race at Daytona.
Hampshire was back on the bike for the 12-race Lucas Oil Pro Motocross schedule and rode his No. 36 Honda CRF250R to a fourth-place points finish by virtue of one overall win, two podiums, five top-five and 10 top-10 finishes. Sexton also got the nod to race for the Pro Motocross title and wrapped up his outdoor effort sixth in the 250 Class points after recording three podiums, four top-five and 11 top-10 efforts.
“Renewing Wiseco’s support of GEICO Honda was a pretty easy decision,” offered Scott Highland, Wiseco’s Director of Powersports. “When we look at forming partnerships with race teams, we look for teams who will not only represent our brand well, but we look for teams who can truly benefit from an aggressive engine development program. GEICO Honda was already successful and obviously a very visible team, but, beyond that, it’s a great fit because we’ve worked closely with the team to develop a better piston that we think provides a competitive advantage to help all our customers. That’s where we find a tremendous amount of value in the partnership.”
The 2019 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, season opener from Angels Stadium of Anaheim, Calif., will kick start the new year Saturday, January 5, beginning at 6:30 p.m., Pacific Time. Details for television coverage of the 2019 season will be announced at a later date.
