The 2025 SMX season was a
tumultuous one for the entire Honda HRC Progressive team

WORDS: DAVEY COOMBS
PHOTOS: ALIGN MEDIA

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... So begins Charles Dickens’ classic novel of 1859, A Tale of Two Cities, which describes the dual nature of the French Revolution in London and Paris, highlighting societal paradoxes where good and evil, light and dark, coexist. (You’re welcome, junior high students forced to read that 400-plus page monolith.) It could also serve as the opening line of a summary of the Honda HRC Progressive team’s 2025 season. The team’s campaign had a good news/bad news vibe, creating a rollercoaster year that began and ended with press releases that were either overly positive or downright unfortunate, starting in early January. We were along for this wild ride, thanks to the team’s PR team, led by Chris Jonnum, of Cycle News and Road Racer X fame.