The Honda World Motocross team was delighted to host a very special guest at the recent Czech Republic Grand Prix, which took place last weekend: motorsports legend Jean–Michel Bayle.
For those who are too young to know, the Frenchman became a two-time motocross World Champion in the late 80s (in the 125 cc class in 1988 and in the 250s in 1989) before moving to the US and becoming the first European rider to defeat the American specialists on their own soil, meaning the AMA Championship: only in his second year, he scored a legendary ‘hat trick’ clinching the title in the 250cc Supercross, 250cc National and 500cc National classes.
After that, in 1992, he shocked when he decided to switch to Grand Prix racing, where he bagged top six finishes and three pole positions in the 250 and 500 cc classes.
Bayle rode Honda machinery for most of his motocross career, but has not attended a motocross event for quite some time.
He was invited to the Czech GP for the European launch of the new 2014 CRF250R – that will become available in Honda’s European dealerships within the next couple of months – and did not miss the chance to have a go at the Loket track with the new bike.
E2 Enduro World Championship leader Alex Salvini and factory Dakar Rally rider Sam Sunderland also were special guests of the team during the weekend.
Read what the mighty Frenchman had to say about the experience right after the jump.
“It’s great to come back to the races and see what is going on, especially while following the team from the inside.
It’s brought back for me a lot of memories of my racing days, as I was racing Honda all of my career in motocross, and it’s nice to see the spirit is still there.
The bikes are nice, and fun to ride, so for me it’s been quite interesting.
It’s been a long time since I’ve attended motocross events, as I’ve spent more of my time at the road races.
”“I ride at home a little bit, but not so much motocross.
I ride on the trails, having fun, so it was nice to ride at a GP track, especially with the French journalists and my friends from the past.
Motocross is physically so hard, and although I still know how to ride, my body doesn’t follow so much anymore.
The bikes are improving all of the time, but it’s surprising the Honda still feels quite similar to before, with improvements in different areas from the bikes I rode.
The sport is evolving with new tracks, and it’s good for the show, as so many kids want to jump and there’s a lot of promotion in the sport, but the show is a lot better than in my era.
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