Doohan helps Honda open Qld HART

by Dave · September 8, 2008

Honda Australia Rider Training (HART) have officially opened their fourth national and first Queensland training centre in Brisbane with the state’s Minister for Transport, John Mickel and racing legend Mick Doohan joining in the celebrations to show their support of the new facility

HART will be delivering Q-RIDE licence training and assessment from this new facility, and advanced courses from other sites in the Brisbane area for experienced riders. Honda Australia’s Managing Director, Stuart Strickland said it is an important part of the company’s philosophy to provide high quality rider training, and the opening of the Brisbane centre is part of the longer term goal of operating a facility in every capital city of Australia.

“Queensland is now the largest motorcycle market in Australia,” he said. “And we are extremely concerned about any accidents in this state that involve motorcycles. Motorcycles and scooters have a place in the public transportation system, and we are seeing with the increasing number of bikes on the road that they can provide a very cost efficient means of personal mobility whilst reducing traffic mass congestion.”

“This is all good news providing we can minimise accidents. Training is one step in that process. We are therefore very pleased that the Minister for Transport agreed to formally open this facility for us, and are looking forward to establishing a great working relationship with this government over time,” Mr Strickland added.

Minister Mickel also stressed the importance of any positive initiatives that aim to improve safety for motorcyclists in the state of Queensland. – continued “We can’t expect anyone to have the same level of skills such as Mick Doohan when they are starting out or even returning to the road after a break,” Mr Mickel said. “The onus is on drivers as well as riders to ensure they are behaving safely and have the skills to deal with different hazards on the road.”

Five time 500cc World Champion Doohan, also gave his stamp of approval to the facility saying that ongoing training is required, no matter where you are at in your riding career. “The thing to remember is that you can continually improve your skills as a rider as time goes on. It’s something that requires practice. I don’t ride as much now as I used to, but if I did, I would certainly be spending some time working on updating my skills again before I hit the road.”

HART which already operates in Victoria and NSW, is Australia’s leading rider training company delivering state-of-the-art teaching methods to over 16,000 riders each year. They are the only rider training company in Australia to use rider simulators to improve Hazard Perception. HART is fully owned and run by Honda Australia who, apart from being a subsidiary of the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer, is also one of the world’s largest trainers of motorcyclists.