HRC’s Honda World Motocross team have confirmed the offer of a contract to MXGP winner Gautier Paulin for 2015 to try and lure the French star back to the structure with which he burst onto the international stage in 2007 as European Champion.
Honda have both Evgeny Bobryshev and Max Nagl up for renewal at the end of this season and with only two podium finishes by Nagl and another spate of injury problems for the Italy-based crew to show for HRC’s investment in 2014, the pressure for better results is increasing.
“The objective of HRC is the world championship and this explains what we have to do. That’s what HRC are here for,” explains General Manager Roger Harvey. “We are interested in Gautier but it depends on his request and he is one of the riders we have spoken to.”
Arnaud Tonus was on the radar for the Japanese and British rider Tommy Searle is also allegedly an option. “We have budget and we are talking with several riders so there is no reason why we should not have an idea by the end of this month,” offered Harvey. “We are talking with three or four. We are not looking at the U.S. but riders from within MXGP.”
With the emphasis falling firmly on title success Honda know their options are realistically quite limited. Clement Desalle is tied with Suzuki for 2015 and Paulin, along with Shaun Simpson, is the only other racer in the current pack over the past two years to have defeated World Champion Tony Cairoli at a Grand Prix.
Despite the thirst for glory – Honda won their last premier class GP back in 2011 thanks to Bobryshev – Harvey has said that the door remains open for the luckless Russian (who has also been linked to KTM) as well as Nagl. “We are not going to forget about our current two because they are well in the frame,” he commented.
