After the races disputed recently in September and October, and as part of the ongoing 2017 Dakar Rally preparations, Team HRC’s rally riders have undergone exhaustive medical check-ups at the prestigious University of Kent.
As part of the collaboration between the University of Kent and Honda HRC, the factory riders from Team HRC and Honda South America Rally Team – Joan Barreda (Spain), Paulo Gonçalves (Portugal), Michael Metge (France), Ricky Brabec (U.S.A), Kevin Benavides and Franco Caimi (Argentina) – spent three days of physical and mental testing in the medical facilities of the University of Kent in Canterbury, United Kingdom.
The organization of these studies has been managed by Professor Samuele Marcora, research director at the School of Sports and Exercise Sciences, under the supervision of medical staff team Doctor Piergiuseppe Tettamanti -Doctor of Medicine and Postgraduate diploma in Sports Medicine- and Doctor Luigi Vanoni -Medical Doctor, International Master in Mountain Medicine, Member of the Italian Sports Medicine Federation and Osteopath-. Riders have been subjected to stamina tests and similar situations to the ones likely to be endured during rally’s blue ribbon event. The analysis aims at finding out how each one reacts to situations of stress, high temperatures, altitude and the affects of fatigue on the body.
Riders will now go ahead with physical preparations, aimed at arriving at the Dakar 2017 in peak condition, and will follow a detailed programme under the supervision of doctors and osteopaths in touch with Kent University.
