HM Plant Honda has taken the covers off the team it hopes for challenge for honours in the 2008 Bennetts British Superbike Championship.
With Ryuichi Kiyonari and Jonathan Rea having moved onto the world stage for the coming campaign, the team will field a new look rider line-up in the Superbike Championship, with Leon Haslam being joined by Cal Crutchlow in a youthful looking partnership.
Former Airwaves Ducati man Haslam will be hoping to secure the title that has eluded him so far as he returns to the Honda fold and he admitted that strong pace during pre-season testing had his confidence high going into the season.
“I'm so looking forward to this year,” he said. “For me, the biggest thing is to be back with Honda, as they've been part of my family and gave me my first big break. I need to take the title this year, I should have had it for the last couple of years, but it proved a little too hard to beat the Hondas on the Ducati!
“The opposition is going well and are going to be tough to beat, but in testing we've been quickest pretty much everywhere and that's been a massive confidence booster before the start of the season. The best thing is that since testing, the bikes have been in the workshop for the last two weeks and the boys are still finding more from the bike. I've worked with Pirelli in the past in World Superbike and I know that set-up of the bike is going to be important, but I've got the experience now to do what it takes to win the title.”
Crutchlow meanwhile moves over from Rizla Suzuki to ride the second bike for the defending champions and he admitted that the pressure was on to deliver results from the outset when the new season kicks off at
Brands Hatch next month.
![Cal Crutchlow - HM Plant Honda [Pic credit: HM Plant Honda]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/418631.jpg)
