After an injury-marred maiden season as a full-time rider, Jake Dixon (Honda HRC) displayed moments of brilliance in the closing rounds of the 2026 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season, and for 2027, the Honda is bringing the Brit and his Thai teammate Somkiat Chantra state-of-the-art reinforcements. The #96 got the chance to speak on the feeling atop his new CBR1000RR-R Fireblade HRC Works Edition 2027 at the EICMA motorcycle exposition.
SHARPENING THE FIREBLADE AFTER A DERAILED 2026 SEASON
Among the 2027 bike’s changes, Dixon and Chantra can look forward to upgrades including an all-new stiffer aluminium frame, new steering geometry, and a lighter swingarm. Below a sleek, redesigned aerodynamic package, the redesigned wheels are lighter, with the same 330mm front discs and implementing the new Brembo Hyction front calipers. Magnesium engine covers and aluminium screws have reduced weight, while new camshaft sprocket adjustment options allow for an increased compression ratio.
“THE NEW AERO IS A PARTICULARLY BIG DIFFERENCE; THIS ONE HAS A LOT MORE”
Honda went back to the drawing board and reevaluated their production philosophy when they were designing their new CBR1000RR-R Fireblade HRC WE 2027. As opposed to starting with their production road bike and adapting it for competition, Honda’s engineers worked in conjunction with the HRC WorldSBK team to redesign the world-famous Fireblade from the ground up. Only after meeting all the team’s requirements did mass production begin.
On the new edition of the Fireblade, Dixon said: “Honestly, there are a lot of changes. It’s a whole new bike. New aero, new frame, everything. I’m super excited. We rode the bike around two weeks ago at Jerez. It’s a big step from what we were doing before, so a massive thank you to Honda and HRC for bringing this new bike out to help us compete more at the front. We have a lot of work still ahead of us, but we will go step by step. The new aero is a particularly big difference from what we had; we didn’t have much on the old bike, and this one has a lot more.”
“IF WE CAN’T FIGHT FOR WINS, THERE’S NO POINT IN GETTING UP EVERY DAY AND TRAINING AS HARD AS WE DO”
Honda will be one of the few teams to feature the same two riders in their garage on the exciting 2027 grid, one less variable for the Honda HRC squad to contend with as the entire field faces changes to the WorldSBK regulations next season. Dixon is undeterred, however and is anticipating a breakout 2027 campaign in which he looks not only for a maiden rostrum result, but to stand on its top step.
Looking ahead to the 2027 season, Dixon said: “I’m 100% confident in the direction Honda is taking. I’m normally a pretty confident person anyway, but I’m looking forward to the new challenge with this bike and the new rule changes to come. I think we can fight for wins. If we can’t, there’s no point in getting up every day and training as hard as we do. My goal and Honda’s goal is to win. This year didn’t go to plan, but sometimes in life there are setbacks, and it’s more a matter of how you come back from them that makes you great.”
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