Yamaha's MCE British Superbike and roads title sponsor Milwaukee have performed a U-turn on their accusation that Honda had a hand in the alterations of the Superbike TT rules which will be introduces this year.
In a statement, the firm have said they 'regret any interpretation that suggested Honda proposed rule changes by which it would gain any competitive advantage', presumably after some stern words were exchanged between manufacturers behind closed doors.
The statement reads:
It has been drawn to our attention by Honda that a paragraph in a press release on January 5, 2014 concerning changes to the TT rules for 2014 – which have led to Milwaukee withdrawing its support for the SMR Milwaukee Yamaha Team at TT2014 – incorrectly stated that those changes were proposed by Honda.
Honda has asked us to point out that the ACU consulted all manufacturers about the rule changes for the 2015 TT. Whilst not all manufacturers were in agreement with the rule changes, Honda took proactive steps to suggest a way to mitigate the significant rule changes being introduced by the ACU by suggesting limited engine changes for 2014. We therefore regret any interpretation that suggested Honda proposed rule changes by which it would gain any competitive advantage.
As stated in the previous release our withdrawal from TT2014 is a commercial decision due to the late amendment of the Superbike Rules for 2014. However, we remain fully committed to Superbike and our partnership with Yamaha and SMR, and will be increasing further our investment in BSB.
