Team G Cross Honda's Brendan Fairclough (Image credit: Tour of Japan)
Team G Cross Honda, one of the top global gravity teams, with riders like Greg Minnaar and Matti Lehikoinen, will not continue into 2008.
Sponsor Honda Racing Corporation expressed its appreciation of team members and others related to their project and then commented on the reason for its exit from sponsorship in a statement, "As a motorcycle manufacturer, we had achieved the approach ... by applying our technology which has been cultivated by our motorcycle development, and getting some feedback to our motorcycle technology was one of the purposes of our entry into the downhill mountain bike racing activity. The original 'RN01' technology for example, frame and suspension, was designed utilizing off road motorcycle technology, including a very special centrally mounted gearbox that is able to change shift at any time; these were improved repeatedly, and were completed as we expected and hoped it would when we started this project back in 2000."
After thanking the team's many sponsors, Team Manager Martin Whiteley added, "I also want to pay a particular tribute to the talented riders and staff who have formed part of the World Team since 2004, namely riders Greg Minnaar, Matti Lehikoinen, Brendan Fairclough and Cyrille Kurtz, as well as mechanics Mike Van Zyl, Mark Maurissen and Adam Bonney, Road Manager Paul Schlitz and Photographer Gary Perkin. Their contributions have been invaluable."
