Thorpe and Sword to race HydroGarden Weston Beach Race aboard Honda Africa Twins
Friday September 16, 2016 at 4:48pm
RHL Activities is excited to announce that Dave Thorpe and Stephen Sword will be taking on this year’s HydroGarden Weston Beach Race, which is being held on October 7-9, aboard the rather unusual choice of Honda Africa Twin machines.
While most racers choose motocross or enduro bikes for the gruelling three-hour solo race, Thorpe and Sword are showcasing the durability and adventure spirit of the Honda Africa Twin machine that was released earlier this year. This iconic new bike is an updated version of the much-celebrated retro motorcycle known for its success in the Paris-Dakar some 30 years ago.
“The Africa Twin is a very important part of Honda’s range and is so well-loved by adventure riders that Honda decided to produce a new version this year. The bike still carries that signature look, but with new technology, and this is a machine that has a lot of heritage in true off-road riding,” explained Thorpe.
Thorpe, who is well-known as the man behind the British motocross championship Buildbase Honda race team and his Honda Off-Road Centre in Wales, will be putting his race kit back on for this event, having only competed in a small number of enduro races in recent years.
Thorpe is certainly celebrated as one of the greats in British motocross history, with four world motocross championship titles and six British motocross championship titles to his name thanks to a career that excelled through the 1980’s. The motocross-ace is now fully focused on his off-road centre, as well as being a team manager and consultant to Honda UK for their off-road business.
“I did an enduro during the winter, which I did competitively down near Poole at Bere Regis, but in terms of racing motocross, the last time I raced was a vets event in Italy a couple of years ago,” said Thorpe.
Joining him on the line also aboard a Honda Africa Twin will be eight time British motocross champion and former Grand Prix racer, Stephen Sword, who has over 27 years’ worth of experience in the motocross industry and now works with Thorpe training riders.