When I was a lad of about 10 years old I was already deeply in love with motorcycle racing, and I happened to be fascinated by one specific feat. In 1993 a Japanese rider by the name of Shinichi Itoh broke the 200mph barrier in Grand Prix racing at Hockenheim in Germany. It was as difficult for me to comprehend as walking on the moon, and Itoh was forever inducted into my pantheon of personal motorcycling heroes.
So I had to pinch myself a little when Itoh himself was my tour guide for lapping the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain, aboard Honda's ultra-exotic RC213V-S. For a race fan like me, it's pretty cool to even be in the pit lane and garages at Valencia, but to ride a V-4 Honda around the track was another level. This is the circuit, after all, where Valentino Rossi, Nicky Hayden, Casey Stoner, and Marc Marquez have either clinched or celebrated being world champions aboard V-4 (or V-5) Hondas. To tuck in behind Shinichi Itoh on the front stretch on a V-4 Honda... that's the stuff dreams are made of. Not unlike Honda's RC213V-S, I suppose.
I told Itoh-san it was a great honor to ride with him, and eventually asked if he remembered breaking 200 at Hockenheim. He smiled yes, and remembered that he was testing special combustion chambers for the NSR500, built for top speed. When I asked if it was fun, he gave an apprehensive nod. Hockenheim's long straight away was more of a curve, he explained, so the bike was wobbling and bucking the whole time. At over 200. Epic.
