Rui Goncalves Confirms His Return to the Honda World Motocross Team

Once again, Honda World Motocross will face their last competitive match before the MX1 World Championship starts in Sevlievo, Bulgaria on April 9 to 10. After racing in the final round of the Italian Championship, Evgeny Bobryshev and Rui Goncalves are about to build a momentum that will surely carry over to the beginning of their campaign for the 2011 World Championship.
Evgeny Borbryshev is familiar with the new Honda 450R because of his experience in 2010 when he raced for the CAS Honda team. He exhibited his remarkable form from pre-season to last season preparations and scored an excellent win in Faenza. As Rui Goncalves joined the Honda World Motocross team, it represented his return to the manufacturer he used to race for during the early years of his career. This season will be his first time riding 450cc machines for the MX1 championship campaign.
"It feels good to be back with Honda, and it actually seems like I am on my way home. After competing for several championship races and succeeding as a member of Honda Portugal, I developed a good relationship with them so it almost feels like I never even left the team," Rui says. He also mentioned that Evgeny is great to work with and he believes that they can help each other perform better on the dirt bike tracks.
After switching from the 350R to the 450R, Rui also shared a few insights on how he has adapted to the big change. Although he has already raced with a 450R bike before, he hadn't ever used it for a full championship and he admits that the last Honda trail bike he rode was not even a 4-stroke engine. However, its increased torque, improved power delivery, and linear power curve makes it easier to ride smoothly and also to punch out of corners so he believes it will positively affect his riding.