As Honda ended three days of testing at the Jerez circuit in Spain, most of the focus was on the new V-5 four-stroke RC211V tested by World Champion Valentino Rossi and Tohru Ukawa. Yes, the RC211V was spectacular, with both Rossi and Ukawa breaking the lap record at Jerez in one of the first “shakedown” tests of the new machine.
Current 250 World Champion Daijiro Katoh was the real stunner, however. Just getting familiar with his new 500 two-stroke, perhaps the most difficult type of roadracer to ride, Katoh also smashed the lap record and was more than half a second quicker than Rossi and Ukawa! The 128 pound Katoh was still searching for a setup!
Katoh dominated the 250 class last year as thoroughly as Rossi dominated 500s. When a 250 star of his caliber steps up to the faster bikes, it is frequently anyone’s guess how he will do. When Katoh threw down a time nearly one and a half seconds faster than Rossi’s lap record, recorded in May of this year on the same bike, the paddock undoubtedly fell silent in awe.
The diminutive and humble Katoh is a good bet to be a future star in the MotoGP class, and even a race winner in his first year.
