Justin Barcia Signs with Factory Honda

American Honda is proud to welcome Justin Barcia to Team Honda Muscle Milk for the 2013-2014 seasons. Barcia will contest both the AMA Supercross Championship and AMA Motocross Championship aboard a factory-prepared Honda CRF450R race machine.

Barcia has been a part of the Honda family for many years, riding several models as he rose through the amateur ranks. After winning numerous amateur titles, Barcia made his professional motocross debut in 2009 aboard a GEICO Honda CRF250R. The GEICO Honda Race Team program allows top amateurs to take the next step into their careers as professional Lites riders. The team has proven quite successful with Trey Canard, Eli Tomac and Justin Barcia all coming through the ranks to win AMA Lites Championships.

"It has taken a lot of hard work to get our program where it is today," stated Factory Connection President and GEICO Honda Team co-owner Rick Zielfelder. "We pride ourselves on having an elite program that offers support to top amateur racers and gives them the opportunity to further their careers in the professional ranks. The GEICO Honda Team has given riders the tools to reach their ultimate goal of winning professional championships. It also creates a seamless integration for the rider to make the move to racing the 450s with the Honda factory team. And like Trey Canard, we are pleased to see Barcia make the transition to Team Honda Muscle Milk."

In the 2011 AMA Supercross season, Barcia appeared on the podium at every round of the nine-race series and was able to clinch his first Lites East Championship title. During the 2011 outdoor motocross season, Barcia was given the opportunity to ride the last four rounds aboard a factory CRF450R. He showed that he could run up front by taking third place overall at both Unadilla and Pala, and grabbing a moto win in Southwick. Barcia's 2012 season has proven just as successful as he earned five race wins and wrapped up his second Lites East Championship in New Orleans with one round remaining.

"It's an awesome feeling to sign with Team Honda Muscle Milk," said Barcia. "It is something that I have dreamed of since being an amateur. I've been riding and winning on Hondas for years because it's the bike I feel best on. I am excited to continue my career with Honda aboard the CRF450R. I got a glimpse of what I have to look forward to after getting the opportunity to race the 450 last year. After working with Jeff Stanton I have learned that hard work really pays off and I plan to continue that work ethic into my 450 career. With a great team behind me and an amazing bike, I believe I can be a contender for the championship."

Team Manager Erik Kehoe welcomes Barcia to the Honda lineup. "We are pleased to have Justin on board for the 2013 season. With two Lites East championships under his belt, Justin has proven time and again that he has what it takes to run up front and win races," said Kehoe. "He has also shown that he can be a front runner aboard a CRF450R. We believe that with his pure determination to win, Justin will be a consistent threat to climb the podium. His focus and drive make him a great fit for our team."

**Courtesy of Hondanews.com

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Honda Develops Successful Traffic Jam Detector

Honda announced a technology breakthrough today capable of detecting the potential for traffic congestion by actively determining whether the driving pattern of a vehicle is likely to create bottle-necking. 

 

Unlike GPS systems that actively reroute drivers to avoid roads suffering from heavy traffic, Honda’s system passively reacts to congestion situations, monitoring the acceleration and deceleration patterns from the driver to determine whether the car will negatively impact traffic flow. Based on its decision, the system can then guide drivers with the appropriate information for optimal throttle control from devices including on-board color-coded displays.

Working with University of Tokyo’s Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, Honda carried a series of experiments in order to refine its traffic congestion monitoring system. Ultimately, the tests resulted in significant gains in congestion simulation, improving the average speeds of leading vehicles to improve by 23 percent with trailing vehicles also benefiting from an 8 percent improvement in fuel economy.

Honda didn’t end testing there. By applying Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) and combining the system with on-board terminals to cloud servers, Honda experimented with a network of communicating vehicles that can synchronize driving patterns in a wider scale. According to Honda, this resulted in a further 16 percent increase in the average speed of trailing vehicles and an additional 5 percent improvement in fuel economy compared to the results recorded when not using ACC and cloud technology.

Rather than focusing on hybrids and alternative energy as the only solution to emissions reduction, Honda found that solutions to driving behavior can curb traffic congestion and minimize its tendency to cause a higher potential of rear-end collisions, delay arrival times, and increase CO2 emissions.

Honda intends to introduce its technology into the market soon but will first conduct real-world testing in Italy and Indonesia during May and July.

 

**  Courtesy of AutoGuide

American Honda Reports April Auto Sales: CR-V Sets April Record, Accord Sees 41-Percent Gain

American Honda today reported April 2012 U.S. sales of 122,012 units, an increase of 10 percent based on the daily selling rate*. The Honda division posted April 2012 sales of 109,837, an increase of 9.2 percent compared to April 2011. Acura's U.S. April sales of 12,175 were up 18 percent compared to April 2011.

Honda
- Honda Accord sales up more than 40 percent compared to April 2011, demonstrating the strength of Accord, even as an all-new version is set to debut this fall.

- New April sales record for CR-V. Accord, CR-V, Odyssey and Ridgeline all post double-digit percentage sales gains compared to last year.

- Honda Civic Hybrid sales up more than 600 percent on heightened fuel-price sensitivity.

"With double-digit sales growth in April, the Accord continues to be the retail sales leader in the mid-size segment," said John Mendel, American Honda executive vice president of sales. "As other manufacturers resort to fleet sales, the quality and value of the Honda Accord continues to win new customers even as we prepare to launch an all-new model this fall."

 

**  Courtesy of Honda Media Newsroom

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Honda Riders Top the Podium, Regain Lites Points Lead in Seattle

Race fans filled Century Link Field in Seattle, WA, on Saturday night to see Honda riders take on Round 15 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship series. Team Honda Muscle Milk's Justin Brayton rode a strong race to place fourth overall, while L&Mc Racing's Andrew Short put in an impressive ride aboard his Honda CRF450R to grab his career-first Supercross win. GEICO Honda's Eli Tomac had another solid ride aboard his CRF250R, finishing third overall to regain the Lites West points lead.

The Race

After placing third overall in his heat race, Team Honda Muscle Milk's Justin Brayton was ready to take on the main. On the first lap, Brayton began working his way towards the front of the pack and was able to stay consistent under the pressure of multiple riders to finish fourth. "I'm happy to finish fourth and be able to get some valuable points," said Brayton. "I'm just ready to be in that top position. The bike was running great, so I'm ready to go home, continue my training this week and head into Salt Lake City strong."

In the main event, L&Mc Racing's Andrew Short was quick to find his groove on the challenging Seattle track after grabbing the holeshot aboard his Honda CRF450R. Despite being pressured early in the race, Short was able to maintain his lead. He rode a consistent and solid race all the way to the checkered flag to take his first Supercross class win. 

"This feeling is completely unreal to me, and I don't even know what to say," Short stated. "After my heat race, I knew track position off the start was huge, so I really tried to dig deep to grab a good start and maintain it the entire race. I have been close to winning before but was never able to pull it all together. Now to be able to get this win after coming off an injury is huge. I was really nervous the whole race, so being able to see that checkered flag while being in the lead is unreal. I'm so excited for my team, myself and my family."

In the Supercross Lites West competition, GEICO Honda's Eli Tomac had an exciting race, exchanging hard passes with another rider. Tomac was able to battle his way to a third-place finish, despite having a bent shifter. "That was the wildest race of my entire life," said Tomac. "It started a little rough, obviously, with the battle between me and Wilson. We made a few contact passes, but unfortunately there weren't many places to pass on the track. My focus is just to be smart and finish strong the rest of the rounds. I'm here for the championship."

Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil/Honda's Cole Seely rode a solid race to finish fourth, followed by GEICO Honda's Wil Hahn.

The Focus: Dunlop

Dunlop has an unequaled win record in virtually every form of AMA racing and as a Honda racing team sponsor for more than two decades, has contributed immensely to the motocross team's record 61 national titles. Working hand in hand with Honda's factory riders and technicians guarantees cutting-edge tire technology for the Honda team, and the partnership pays dividends for weekend warriors through the development of off-road tires for riders of every level.

 

**  Courtesy of Honda Media Newsroom