February 7, 2014 - Honda Motor Co., Ltd. announced its 2014 motorsports strategy and initiatives for expanding the popularity of motorsports.
Since the days of its founding, Honda has always considered racing as a key driving force, tackling motorsports challenges across the globe and achieving a wealth of victories along the way, while using racing as an experimental plot for technologies that would sow the seeds of the company's overall growth. The racing spirit fostered in this process is alive today in all of Honda's products and technical development.
Honda's corporate slogan is "The Power of Dreams." Honda will realize these dreams together with its customers by putting more power behind its motorsports activities so that through racing it can bring fun, joy and excitement to more people around the world.
In the MotoGP, the premier class of the FIM*1 Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix Series, Honda turned in a "triple crown" by taking all three titles last season-the riders', team, and constructors' championships. Farther afield, Honda's factory team also competed in the Dakar 2014 in January of this year and marked its steady progress by winning 6 out of the rally's 13 stages in only its second year of participation. This year, Honda engages as Team HRC in the FIM Motocross World Championship Series (MXGP, formerly WMX) and FIM Trial World Championship Series (WCT).
Based on our desire to satisfy the expectations of many customers and fans as a manufacturer of motorcycles in all categories, we at Honda are determined to raise our commitment to the four categories of road racing, motocross, trials world championships, and the newly added the Dakar.
In the MotoGP, the Repsol Honda Team will again put forward the lineup of Marc Márquez, who made history last year as the youngest champion ever in his very first season of MotoGP competition, paired with Dani Pedrosa who won the 3rd place. Repsol Honda Team aims to win the three titles for the second season running. In addition to its factory team*2, two satellite teams*3 will be equipped with machines supplied by Honda, for a total of three teams and four riders representing Honda in the MotoGP.
In the premier MXGP (450 cc) class of the FIM Motocross World Championship Series (MXGP, formerly the WMX), Honda will compete with its new Team HRC. In another new start this season, Honda will race the new CRF450RW factory machine, and with the two riders of Evgeny Bobryshev and Maximilian Nagel aims to create a team that can take the podium at any given race.
In the FIM*1 Trial World Championship Series (WCT), inheriting the spirit of glorious Repsol Montessa Team, the new Repsol Honda Team will compete as the Honda's factory team, racing two Cota 4RT machines equipped with 4-stroke engines. The team will feature the two riders of Toni Bou, the dominant champion for the past seven years, and Takahisa Fujinami, the only Japanese rider in WCT racing, as it eyes the championship again with this solid WTC lineup.
Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) will be active not only in top-notch racing of this caliber but also in the promotion of commercially available racing machines. The RCV1000R, which will be raced by four riders representing three different teams in the new MotoGP Open category, will be put on the market by HRC. HRC also plans to launch the CRF450 Rally from the Dakar by the end of this year. Through these actions, Honda aims to provide equivalent machines or near-twins of its factory team machines to more and more customers, as part of its efforts to further expand the popularity of motorcycle racing.
[ Automobile activities ]In the FIA*4 World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) last year, Honda won four races and the manufacturers' title, even though it was its first full year participation. Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team, a Honda factory team, will again feature Gabriele Tarquini and Tiago Monteiro as its drivers this season. Among private teams, in addition to Zengő Motorsport of Hungary, Proteam Racing will also be supplied with Honda Civic WTCC. Honda's three teams and their four drivers aim to capture the dual titles of drivers' and manufacturers' championships.
Beginning this season, Takuya Izawa will compete for the France-based racing team ART Grand Prix in the GP2 Series*5, recognized as a gateway to the FIA*4 Formula One World Championship (F1). Izawa demonstrated great performance last season in the SUPER GT (GT500) Series and the Japanese Championship SUPER FORMULA Series. His participation in the GP2 Series is a part of a Honda project for turning out more Japanese F1 drivers. Through collaboration with McLaren Racing, Honda will create more opportunities to encourage Japanese drivers to succeed on a global scale.
In the SUPER GT Series, new regulations are planned for the GT500 class, where Honda will compete with its NSX CONCEPT-GT equipped with a 2.0 liter inline 4-cylinder direct injection turbo engine and a racing hybrid system, in its attempt to recapture the dual title of drivers' and team championships with its five teams and five machines. Now in its second season of full participation in the GT300 class, Honda will continue its support for two teams, supplying them with a racing hybrid system the CR-Z GT equipped with the machine that won the last year's title.
In the Japanese Championship SUPER FORMULA Series, where it captured the drivers' championship last season, Honda now aims for the dual titles of drivers' and team championships and will race a 2.0 liters inline 4-cylinder direct injection turbo engine meeting the new regulations.
In the IndyCar® Series, Takuma Sato became the first Japanese driver ever to win a race last year. Now in his fifth season, he will again compete for A.J. Foyt Racing.
For the FIA Formula One World Championship (F1)*4, which Honda will rejoin in the 2015 season, the company is making steady progress in developing the power unit. In January 2014 Honda moved its motor sports development base from the Automobile R&D Center of Honda R&D Co., Ltd. (at Haga-machi, Haga-gun in Tochigi Prefecture) to a newly situated area in its facility in Sakura City (also in Tochigi), in a move to further strengthen its development organization for F1 and other races.
At Honda's European base for F1 activity in Milton Keynes, U.K., installation of the dynamo and assembly facilities will be completed in June 2014 to further reinforce the already solid setup in preparation for racing.
*1 FIM: Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme *2 Factory team: A team managed directly by the manufacturer that creates the racing machine *3 Satellite team: A team that competes in a race by using a factory machine created by the manufacturer that manages the factory team and managed their team by their own *4 FIA: Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile *5 The GP2 Series is a category positioned as a gateway to the F1. GP2 Series races are held internationally, mostly in Europe, as support races for F1. Past GP2 Series champions have moved on to further success at F1. 2. Outline of Motorsports Promotion ActivitiesHonda has actively developed programs to expand the popularity of motorsports, including a diversity of activities undertaken to communicate the appeal of motorsports to a broad spectrum of fans around the world. These activities complement the company's programs for developing motorcycle and automobile racing talent with a variety of events that can be enjoyed in a casual setting. Starting this year, Honda will support a new participatory motorsports program called the N-ONE OWNER'S CUP, which is a one-make race using the N-ONE mini-vehicle with commercially available vehicles licensed for public roads. Beginning with an exhibition race at Suzuka Circuit in April, a total of 8 N-ONE OWNER'S CUP races will be held in 6 locations across Japan. In motorcycle racing, HRC will start providing support for the Asia Talent Cup to build up Honda's efforts towards fostering talent in the Asia region, where enthusiasm for motorsports is bound to grow in the future.
Mobilityland to host world premier racesMobilityland Corporation will continue to provide the venues along with a multitude of opportunities for racing fans to watch, participate in, and enjoy racing together with other mobility-oriented events. By hosting these racing events, Mobilityland will extend its contribution toward further growth of Japan's motorsports culture.
Since opening in 1962 as the first full-scale racing course in Japan, Suzuka Circuit has hosted a large number and wide variety of racing events during its rich history spanning over 50 years. The circuit will host a multitude of events again in 2014, starting with the Suzuka Circuit Motorsports Fan Appreciation Day to be held on March 1-2 (Sat.-Sun.) and also covering the FIA Formula One World Championship (F1), FIM Endurance World Championship Series (Suzuka 8hours Endurance Road Race), FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) and FIM Asia Road Racing Championship Series (ARRC) races.
Twin Ring Motegi will host the FIM Trial World Championship Series (WCT) and FIM Road Racing World Championship Series (MotoGP) races. Mobilityland continues to offer fans the opportunity to watch and experience a wealth of Japanese and international motorsports events, including the following world top-class motorcycle and automobile races.
Main international races to be hosted by MobilitylandCategory | Schedule | Title | Circuit | ||||
WCT |
April 26-27 (Sat. - Sun.) |
2014 FIM Trial World Championship Series Round 2 Grand Prix of Japan |
Twin Ring Motegi, Tochigi | ||||
EWC |
July 24-27 (Thu. - Sun.) |
2014 Endurance World Championship Series Round 2 Suzuka 8hours Endurance Road Race |
Suzuka Circuit, Mie | ||||
ARRC |
September 5-7 (Fri. - Sun.) |
2014 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship Series Round 4 Race of Japan |
Suzuka Circuit, Mie | ||||
F1 |
October 3-5 (Fri. - Sun.) |
2014 FIA Formula One World Championship Round 15 Japanese Grand Prix |
Suzuka Circuit, Mie | ||||
MotoGP |
October 10-12 (Fri. - Sun.) |
2014 FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix Series Round 16 Grand Prix of Japan |
Twin Ring Motegi, Tochigi | ||||
WTCC |
October 25-26 (Sat. - Sun.) |
2014 FIA World Touring Car Championship Race of Japan |
Suzuka Circuit, Mie |
With the aim of providing more opportunities for people to watch, participate in and enjoy activities related to Honda motorcycles, automobiles, and power products, the Enjoy Honda program will be held again this year as a fan appreciation event. Honda will now hold these events at seven venues: Suzuka Circuit (Mie Prefecture), Honda Safety & Riding PLAZA Kyushu (Kumamoto Prefecture), Honda Safety Training Center Shikoku (Kagawa Prefecture), Twin Ring Motegi (Tochigi Prefecture), Sportsland SUGO (Miyagi Prefecture) and a new venue in Sapporo (Hokkaido Prefecture), plus the new additions of Fuji International Speedway (Shizuoka Prefecture). Two of these venues will hold motorcycle and automobile racing events at the same time: Suzuka Circuit will hold Round 1 of the MFJ All-Japan Road Race Championship Series and Round 1 of Japanese Championship SUPER FORMULA Series, while Twin Ring Motegi will hold Round 5 of the MFJ All-Japan Road Race Championship Series and Round 4 of Japanese Championship SUPER FORMULA Series.
The Enjoy Honda program will feature Honda motorcycles, automobiles, and power products; a chance to ride in the air on tethered hot-air balloons; parent-and-child motorcycle lessons; live demonstrations of trial bike and Honda's humanoid robot, ASIMO; and Craft Classes from the Forest.*6
*6 The actual program will differ according to venue. For more details, visit the official Enjoy Honda website at http://www.honda.co.jp/enjoyhonda/ (Japanese only). Enjoy Honda 2014 scheduleSchedule | Event name | Venue | |||
April 12-13 (Sat. - Sun.) | Enjoy Honda Suzuka 2014 (held jointly with motorcycle and automobile races at Suzuka) | Suzuka Circuit, Mie | |||
April 19-20 (Sat. - Sun.) | Enjoy Honda Kumamoto 2014 | Honda Safety & Riding PLAZA Kyushu, Kumamoto | |||
May 24-25 (Sat. - Sun.) | Enjoy Honda Kagawa 2014 | Honda Safety Training Center Shikoku, Kagawa | |||
July 12-13 (Sat. - Sun.) | Enjoy Honda Fuji 2014 | Fuji International Speedway, Shizuoka | |||
August 23-24 (Sat. - Sun.) | Enjoy Honda Motegi 2014 (held jointly with motorcycle and automobile races at Motegi) | Twin Ring Motegi, Tochigi | |||
September 27 -28 (Sat. - Sun.) | Enjoy Honda Sugo 2014 | Sportsland SUGO, Miyagi | |||
September (TBD.) |
Enjoy Honda Sapporo 2014 (Tentative name ) | TBD. |
To show its appreciation to motorsports fans, Honda will host Honda Racing THANKS DAY.
Honda Racing THANKS DAY 2014 scheduleSchedule | Event name | Circuit | |||
November 23 (Sun.) | Honda Racing THANKS DAY 2014 | Twin Ring Motegi, Tochigi |
Since 1981, Honda has hosted Honda Eco Mileage Challenge*7, an event focused on the environment. Participants combine their creativity, free imagination and technology to create their own handcrafted vehicles, and then compete to see how far they can travel on one liter of fuel. This event will mark its 34th year in 2014, and a total of 13,138 teams have participated through the years with an all-time record of 3,644.869 km/liter set at the 2011 event. These events have been held not only in Japan but in other countries such as Thailand, China and Vietnam.
Honda Eco Mileage Challenge 2014: Schedule in JapanSchedule | Event name | Circuit | |||
June 14 (Sat.) | 28th Honda Eco Mileage Challenge 2014, Suzuka |
East Circuit, Suzuka Circuit, Mie | |||
June 28 (Sat.) | 6th Honda Eco Mileage Challenge 2014, Motegi |
West Road Course, Twin Ring Motegi, Tochigi | |||
August 3 (Sun.) | 30th Honda Eco Mileage Challenge 2014, Kyushu |
Circuit Course, Honda Safety & Riding PLAZA Kyushu, Kumamoto | |||
September 27-28 (Sat.-Sun.) Sept. 27: Practice runs Sept. 28: Finals |
34th Soichiro Honda Cup Honda Eco Mileage Challenge 2014 National Competition |
Super Speedway, Twin Ring Motegi, Tochigi |
Honda will continue its support for the Honda Sports & Eco Program, in which anyone can take part. Run jointly by Mobilityland Corporation and M-TEC Co., Ltd., the program was started in 2012 under the theme of "eco-friendly sports driving." This motor recreation program enables all participants to freely enjoy the fun of "maneuvering, polishing their driving skills, and competing," while pushing the limits of eco-friendly performance behind the wheel of the Honda CR-Z with racing specifications, towards the ultimate goal of promoting coexistence of the environment and sports driving. A new price structure is offered to allow motorsports beginners to take part in the program more freely as well as a roster of instructors led by active Honda team drivers with an abundance of experience in the SUPER GT and Japanese Championship SUPER FORMULA races to make the program even more attractive for beginners and skilled sports drivers alike.
The 1.5 Challenge Cup (Motegi, SUGO) and the FIT 1.5 Challenge Cup (Suzuka)The Motegi 1.5 Challenge Cup has been hosted by Mobilityland Corporation since 2012, as a series of races competed in by Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) registered cars with engine displacement of 1500 cc or less, and has enjoyed active support from Honda since the first race. Starting this season, the event will expand to a series of six races held in cooperation with Sportsland SUGO-five events at Twin Ring Motegi and one event at Sportsland SUGO. To reflect this change, the race has been renamed "The 1.5 Challenge Cup."
Also this season, the inaugural event of The FIT 1.5 Challenge Cup will be held at Suzuka Circuit. This series of one-make races for the Fit will consist of sprint races for all competitions. Honda will work closely with M-TEC Co., Ltd., which develops and supplies parts for vehicles for such participatory motorsports events involving Honda owners of the Honda Fit RS or other Honda models.
N-ONE OWNER'S CUPAs a new participatory motorsports program, Honda will support the N-ONE OWNER'S CUP which utilizes the N-ONE mini-vehicle that has proven popular with a large number of customers. With the aim of letting many motorsports fans take part, the N-ONE OWNER'S CUP takes the form of a sprint race with commercially available vehicles licensed for public roads. This motorsports event will be held at 6 circuits spread around Japan: Fuji Speedway, Autopolis International Racing Course, Okayama International Circuit,Twin Ring Motegi, Sportsland SUGO and Suzuka Circuit.
Asia Dream CupThe rapid rise in enthusiasm across Asia for motorcycle racing led to the introduction in 2012 of the Asia Dream Cup, a program for helping develop rider talent and a part of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship Series. Honda continues its active support of this project, which will select riders from 12 countries in the Asian region including Japan, with the aim of fostering future GP race rider talent. Honda supports the Asia Dream Cup program by supplying racing specs machines based on its CBR250R model, and will send Shinya Nakano, ex-MotoGP rider to all six races as an adviser to young riders.
Representing Japan in the Asia Dream Cup races this season will be Reitoku Kurogi in his second year of participation, as well as Shunya Mori and Teppei Nagoe, who achieved good results in the CBR250R Dream Cup Series in Japan last season.
Hiroki Ono, who emerged as the series champion in the Asia Dream Cup races last season, will now move up to compete in the Repsol CEV FIM Road Racing International Championship.
Asia Talent CupStarting this season, Dorna Sports which oversees the MotoGP races will stage the Shell Advance Asia Talent Cup program for fostering next-generation rider talent in the Asia region. HRC will support this program by supplying the NSF250R as the racing machines.
CBR250R Dream Cup and NSF100 HRC TrophyCBR250R Dream Cup is a one-make race featuring the CBR250R, a commercially available motorcycle, and has been held since 2012 at circuits throughout Japan. In 2014, a new class has been added to encourage entrants with no formal racing experience. This new class together with the current class for experienced riders will constitute the two classes of the Dream Cup.
The NSF100 HRC Trophy, held since 2006 at over 20 circuits throughout Japan, is a one-make race featuring the NSF100 machine made exclusively for racing. The race, which marks its ninth season this year and is recognized as a gateway to success for junior riders.
For both of these races, riders who rank high in individual local races will win admittance to the Grand Championships held at Suzuka Circuit and Twin Ring Motegi. HRC will support these programs through sales of the machines used in these races.
< Overview of Motorcycle Racing Strategy > [ Road Races ] FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix Series < MotoGP class >Honda will compete in the "Factory Option"*8, aiming to replicate last season's success by winning all three titles of the riders', constructors' and team championships. This year, Honda will field a revved-up 2014 version of the RC213V.
As Honda's factory team, Repsol Honda Team will again feature the duo of Marc Márquez, who became the youngest champion ever in his very first MotoGP season, and Dani Pedrosa, who ranked third last season. Racing for Honda's satellite teams will be Alvaro Bautista of GO & FUN Honda Gresini and Stefan Bradl of LCR Honda MotoGP.
This year, Honda will sell the RCV1000R, its commercially available racing machine, to teams participating in the "Open category"*8 of the MotoGP. The riders competing on this machine will be Nicky Hayden, Hiroshi Aoyama and Karel Abraham in addition to Scott Redding who is moving up from Moto2.
Team | Number | Rider | Age | Nationality | 2013 Result | ||||||
Repsol Honda Team | 93 | Marc Márquez | 20 | Spain | MotoGP Champion | ||||||
26 | Dani Pedrosa | 28 | Spain | MotoGP 3rd | |||||||
GO & FUN Honda Gresini | 19 | Alvaro Bautista | 29 | Spain | MotoGP 6th | ||||||
LCR Honda MotoGP | 6 | Stefan Bradl | 24 | Germany | MotoGP 7th |
Team | Number | Rider | Age | Nationality | 2013 Result | ||||||
Drive M7 Aspar | 69 | Nicky Hayden | 32 | U.S.A. | MotoGP 9th | ||||||
7 | Hiroshi Aoyama | 33 | Japan | MotoGP 20th | |||||||
Cardion AB Motoracing | 17 | Karel Abraham | 24 | Czech Republic | MotoGP 24th | ||||||
GO & FUN Honda Gresini | 45 | Scott Redding | 21 | U.K. | Moto2 2nd |
The Moto2 class was established in 2010, and Honda has supported this class as the sole official engine supplier starting with that first year. The machines ridden by every team have been powered by an engine developed exclusively for the Moto2 class and based on the inline 4-cylinder engine of the commercially available CBR600RR supersports model. Honda will continue supplying the engine to all the teams through the 2014-2015 season.
Takaaki Nakagami, in his third season as a Moto2 class rider, will now compete for his new team, Idemitsu Honda Team Asia, led by team manager Tadayuki Okada, a former rider in the Honda factory team. The team aims to help young riders tackle the challenge of competing in the Road Racing World Championship Series races and realize their dreams, through links with Honda's racing endeavors in countries throughout Asia. The team will race with two machines this year; joining Nakagami will be Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman of Malaysia, who has competed in this class since the second half of the last season.
Team | Number | Rider | Age | Nationality | 2013 Result | ||||||
IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia | 25 | Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman | 29 | Malaysia |
Moto2 Participated from Round 13, Asia Road Racing Championship SS600 Champion | ||||||
30 | Takaaki Nakagami | 21 | Japan | Moto2 8th |
Honda will provide newly developed machines and technical support to six riders in three teams in the Moto3 class.
Team | Number | Rider | Age | Nationality | 2013 Result | ||||||
Estrella Galicia 0,0 | 42 | Alex Rins | 18 | Spain | Moto3 2nd | ||||||
12 | Alex Márquez | 17 | Spain | Moto3 4th | |||||||
Caretta Technology - RTG | 7 | Efren Vazquez | 27 | Spain | Moto3 9th | ||||||
17 | John McPhee | 19 | U.K. | Moto3 19th | |||||||
Ongetta-Rivacold | 10 | Alexis Masbou | 26 | France | Moto3 8th | ||||||
Ongetta-AirAsia | 63 | Zulfahmi Khairuddin | 22 | Malaysia | Moto3 12th |
To heighten the attraction of this year's 37th Suzuka 8hours Endurance Road Race, Honda plans to enter riders who have been turning in strong performances around the world and in Japan, such as Takumi Takahashi and Kosuke Akiyoshi from the MFJ All-Japan Road Race Championship Series. Takahashi of MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO is vying for the championship title for the second year in a row in the MFJ All-Japan Road Race Championship Series this season, while Akiyoshi of F.C.C. TSR Honda aims to win his third championship title in the Suzuka 8hours Endurance Road Race. The riders from Honda Team Asia, who have been turning in strong showings in races throughout Asia, will also take on the Suzuka 8hours for the third time. (Details will be announced as soon as they are determined.)
FIM Superbike World Championship SeriesThe Honda World Superbike Team, supported by Honda Motor Europe Ltd., Honda's local affiliate in Europe, will vie for victory in the Superbike World Championship Series (WSB) by riding the CBR1000RR. Jonathan Rea and Leon Haslam will repeat as the team's two riders.
Team | Number | Machine | Rider | Age | Nationality | 2013 Result | |||||||
Pata Honda World Superbike Team | 65 | CBR1000RR | Jonathan Rea | 27 | U.K. | WSB 9th | |||||||
91 | Leon Haslam | 30 | U.K. | WSB 13th |
A team from Boon Siew Honda SDN. BHD., Honda's local affiliate in Malaysia; teams from A.P. Honda Co., Ltd. and Thai Honda Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Honda affiliates in Thailand; and a team from P.T. Astra Honda Motor, Honda's local affiliate in Indonesia, will race in the SS600 class of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship Series (ARRC). Racing again for MuSASHi Boon Siew Honda Racing will be Makoto Tamada.
Team | Machine | Rider | 2013 Result | ||||
MuSASHi Boon Siew Honda Racing | CBR600RR | Md Zamri Baba | ARRC 3rd | ||||
Makoto Tamada | ARRC 8th | ||||||
Md Zaqhwan Zaidi | ARRC 10th | ||||||
A.P. Honda Thailand | Peerawat Wongthananon | ARRC 19th | |||||
Jakkrit Swangswat | ARRC 20th | ||||||
Thai Honda Racing | Ratthapong Wilairot | ARRC 17th | |||||
Suhathai Chaemsap | - | ||||||
Astra Honda Racing | Dimas Pratama | Suzuka 4hours Endurance Champion | |||||
Denny Triyugo Laksono | All-Japan Road Race J-GP3 24th | ||||||
T. Pro Yuzy Honda | Tomoyoshi Koyama | ARRC 5th | |||||
Satoru Iwata | ARRC 13th | ||||||
Sasitharen Sukumaran | ARRC 23rd |
In the MXGP class (formerly MX1 class), the premier class of the FIM Motocross World Championship Series (MXGP, formerly WMX), Honda will enter Team HRC as its factory team. Riding for the team will be Evgeny Bobryshev and Maximilian Nagl, who will both compete on the newly developed CRF450RW with the aim of capturing the championship title.
Honda will also provide support to Kei Yamamoto, a Japanese rider who will be in his first season of full competition in the FIM Motocross World Championship Series by taking part in the MX2 class this season. Yamamoto ranked second in the IA2 class of the MFJ All-Japan Motocross Championship Series last season.
Team | Class | Number | Machine | Rider | Age | Nationality | 2013 result | ||||||||
Team HRC |
MXGP (Former MX1) | 777 | CRF450RW | Evgeny Bobryshev | 26 | Russia |
WMX MX1 8th | ||||||||
12 | Maximilian Nagl | 26 | Germany |
WMX MX1 10th |
- 2-stroke: 175cc-250cc; 4-stroke: 290cc-450cc
Team | Class | Number | Machine | Rider | Age | Nationality | 2013 result | ||||||||
Team Gariboldi | MX2 | 243 | CRF250RW | Tim Gajser | 17 | Slovenia |
WMX MX2 20th | ||||||||
400 | CRF250R | Kei Yamamoto | 22 | Japan |
JMX (IA2) 2nd |
- 2-stroke: 100cc-175cc; 4-stroke: 175cc-250cc
Team HRC will again compete as Honda's factory team in the MFJ*9 All-Japan Motocross Championship Series, aiming to win the top IA1 class*10 championship for the third consecutive year. Racing for Team HRC will be Akira Narita, who became series champion in the IA1 class for the second year in a row last season, and Makoto Ogata, who ranked second overall. In the IA2 class*11, will now be joined by Toshiki Toyama, last season's champion in the class and Masami Tanaka, who ranked eighth last year. Honda's four riders will aim for the championship titles in both the IA1 and IA2 classes.
*9 MFJ:Motorcycle Federation of Japan *10 IA1 includes engine displacements of 2-stroke/175cc-250cc and 4-stroke/290cc-450cc. *11 IA2 includes engine displacements of 2-stroke/100cc-125cc and 4-stroke/175cc-250cc.Team | Class | Number | Machine | Rider | Age | Nationality | 2013 Result | ||||||||
Team HRC | IA1 | 1 | CRF450RW | Akira Narita | 33 | Japan | MFJ All-Japan IA1 Champion | ||||||||
2 | Makoto Ogata | 28 | Japan | MFJ All-Japan IA1 2nd | |||||||||||
IA2 | 1 | CRF250RW | Toshiki Tomita | 24 | Japan | MFJ All-Japan IA2 Champion | |||||||||
113 | Masami Tanaka | 24 | Japan | MFJ All-Japan IA2 8th |
Honda competed in the FIM Trial World Championship Series (WCT) through the end of last season by fielding the Repsol Montesa Honda team from Montesa Honda S.A., Honda's local affiliate in Spain. Starting this season, the Repsol Honda Team will now compete as the Honda factory team, consisting of Toni Bou, the reigning for the seventh year running, and Takahisa Fujinami who placed fifth last season. Competing on the COTA 4RT equipped with 4-stroke engines, the members of the Honda team have their eyes on an eighth straight riders' championship and ninth straight manufacturers' championship.
Team | Number | Rider | Age | Nationality | 2013 Result | ||||||
Repsol Honda Team | 1 | Toni Bou | 27 | Spain | WCT Champion | ||||||
5 | Takahisa Fujinami | 34 | Japan | WCT 5th |
Team HRC factory team competed in the Dakar 2014 Argentina-Bolivia-Chile in January. Three of the team's five riders lasted the entire distance: Helder Rodrigues in 5th place, Joan Barreda in 7th place, and Javier Pizzolito in 23rd. Team HRC won 6 of 13 stages overall. For the 2015 rally, Honda's racing strategy including its riders will be announced as soon as it is determined.
Team | Number | Rider | Age | Nationality | 2014 Result | ||||||
Team HRC | 7 | Helder Rodrigues | 34 | Portugal |
Dakar 2014 5th overall | ||||||
3 | Joan Barreda | 30 | Spain |
Dakar 2014 7th overall Victories in 5 stages | |||||||
14 | Javier Pizzolito | 33 | Argentina |
Dakar 2014 23rd overall | |||||||
18 | Sam Sunderland | 24 | U.K. |
Dakar 2014 Withdrew Victory in 1 stage | |||||||
10 | Paulo Goncalves | 35 | Portugal |
Dakar 2014 Withdrew |
In collaboration with Honda, Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) and the Motorcycle R&D Center of Honda R&D Co., Ltd., Honda Motorcycle Japan Co., Ltd. will support the racing activities of all riders who choose to compete on a Honda, by making available the Honda Racing Circuit Service for advice on riding techniques and tuning their machine for the best performance.
MFJ All-Japan Road Race Championship SeriesMain teams and riders supported by Honda JSB1000, Machine: Honda CBR1000RR
Team | Number | Rider | 2013 result | ||||
TOHO Racing Powered by MORIWAKI | 104 | Tatsuya Yamaguchi | 5th (JRR JSB1000) | ||||
MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO | 634 | Takumi Takahashi | 3rd (JRR JSB1000) |
Team | Number | Rider | 2013 result | ||||
MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO | 634 | Naomichi Uramoto | 3rd (JRR J-GP2) | ||||
73 | Chojun Kameya | 9th (JRR ST600) | |||||
MORIWAKI RACING | 72 | Yuki Takahashi | Competed in Moto2 |
Team | Number | Rider | 2013 result | ||||
TOHO Racing Powered by MORIWAKI | 104 | Hiromichi Kunikawa | 10th (JRR ST600) |
Main teams and riders supported by Honda IA1 Class, Machine: Honda CRF450R
Team | Number | Rider | 2013 result | ||||
SEKI Racing MotoRoman & KBF-RS | 777 | Yuui Hoshino | 6th (JMX IA1) | ||||
MOTO.SPORTS.FUKAYA | 8 | Koichi Fukaya | 10th (JMX IA1) |
Team | Number | Rider | 2013 result | ||||
TEAM ITOMO | 35 | Kohei Ogawa | 6th (JMX IA2) | ||||
TEAM 887 | 40 | Daiki Baba | 11th (JMX IA2) | ||||
TEAM HAMMER | 41 | Yusuke Kondo | 12th (JMX IA2) | ||||
T.E.SPORT | 01 | Gota Otsuka |
1st (JMX IB2) 1st (JMX IB Open) | ||||
TEAM HAMMER | 06 | Kota Kitano |
5th (JMX IB2) 12th (JMX IB Open) | ||||
N.R.T. | 08 | Takumu Yokosawa |
6th (JMX IB2) 7th (JMX IB Open) |
Team | Number | Rider | 2013 result | ||||
TEAM HAMMER | 2 | Yuna Takeuchi | 2nd (JMX LX) | ||||
TEAM ITOMO | 6 | Wakana Nobunaga | 6th (JMX LX) | ||||
T.E.SPORT | 9 | Eriko Takahashi | 9th (JMX LX) |
Honda will support a team belonging to HRC Service Shop for competition in the All-Japan Trial Championship Series.
IAS Class, Machine: Honda RTL260FTeam | Number | Rider | 2013 result | ||||
HRC CLUB MITANI | 1 | Tomoyuki Ogawa | Champion (IAS) | ||||
6 | Akira Shibata | 6th (IAS) |
More exciting races are expected in the upcoming season of WTCC as a result of the regulation changes for the season. There is now more leeway for external design and aerodynamic parts, which combined with the bigger and wider tires and engines packing more power will enhance the passion of WTCC races. Honda has given a sharper design to the new Honda Civic WTCC, equipped with a lighter HR-412E engine, and looks forward to even more dynamic races by its teams.
Honda took four victories in its first year of full WTCC participation, with a factory team that will again feature Gabriele Tarquini and Tiago Monteiro as drivers.
In addition to the factory team, Honda will supply machines to more private teams this season. While Norbert Michelisz will again race for Zengő Motorsport of Hungary, Mehdi Bennani will now drive for Proteam Racing. The three teams including the factory team will compete with a total of four machines and aim to capture both the drivers' and manufacturers' titles this season.
Team | Number | Driver | Age | Nationality | 2013 Result | ||||||
Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team | 3 | Gabriele Tarquini | 51 | Italy | WTCC 2nd | ||||||
18 | Tiago Monteiro | 37 | Portugal | WTCC 8th | |||||||
Zengő Motorsport | 5 | Norbert Michelisz | 29 | Hungary | WTCC 6th | ||||||
Proteam Racing | 25 | Mehdi Bennani | 30 | Morocco | WTCC 12th |
Takuya Izawa, who demonstrated great performance during the 2013 season in the GT500 class of the SUPER GT Series and the Japanese Championship SUPER FORMULA Series, will begin competing this season for the France-based racing team ART Grand Prix in the GP2 Series which is seen as a gateway to the FIA Formula One World Championship (F1).
With the aim of developing highly talented drivers, Honda has been evolving the Honda Formula Dream Project (HFDP) over a period of time, and through the collaboration between HFDP and the Young Driver Development Program operated by McLaren Racing, Honda will enhance its initiatives for turning out F1 drivers. Izawa's participation in the GP2 Series is a part of this project, and Honda will further strengthen cooperation with McLaren Racing to create the opportunities to encourage for Japanese drivers to achieve success on the global stage.
Team | Number | Driver | Age | Nationality | 2013 Result | ||||||
ART Grand Prix | 10 | Takuya Izawa | 29 | Japan |
GT500 10th SF 7th |
The GT500 new regulations being introduced this season have led to a total overhaul of the machine and engine. Honda will now compete with the NSX CONCEPT-GT, a machine based on the NSX Concept-its next-generation supersports model. The new chassis developed exclusively for racing will be equipped with the HR-414E, a newly developed midship 2.0L inline 4-cylinder direct injection turbo engine, and also feature a racing hybrid system. Aiming to recapture the dual titles of drivers' and team championships, five teams will race five of these machines for Honda again this season. The machine is being developed again this year under the auspices of the Honda GT Project by the Automobile R&D Center of Honda R&D Co., Ltd., in cooperation with M-TEC Co., Ltd.
Team | Number | Tire | Driver | Age | Nationality | 2013Result | |||||||
AUTOBACS RACING TEAM AGURI | 8 | Bridgestone | Vitantonio Liuzzi | 32 | Italy | New entry | |||||||
Kosuke Matsuura | 34 | Japan | GT500 11th | ||||||||||
KEIHIN REAL RACING | 17 | Bridgestone | Koudai Tsukakoshi | 27 | Japan | GT500 2nd | |||||||
Toshihiro Kaneishi | 35 | Japan | |||||||||||
Weider Modulo DOME Racing | 18 | Michelin | Naoki Yamamoto | 25 | Japan | GT500 4th | |||||||
Jean Karl Vernay | 26 | France | New entry | ||||||||||
Epson Nakajima Racing | 32 | Dunlop | Daisuke Nakajima | 25 | Japan | GT500 15th | |||||||
Bertrand Baguette | 27 | Belgium | New entry | ||||||||||
TEAM KUNIMITSU | 100 | Bridgestone | Takashi Kogure | 33 | Japan | GT500 10th | |||||||
Hideki Mutoh | 31 | Japan |
GT300 Champion |
While M-TEC Co., Ltd. will carry on with the CR-Z GT project this season again, Honda will continue its development focusing on the racing hybrid system and support the racing activities of two private teams, TEAM MUGEN and AUTOBACS RACING TEAM AGURI.
TEAM MUGEN has appointed Ryo Michigami, a successful driver in the GT 500 class through last season, as an executive adviser. In this role, he will advise young riders on ways to improve their skills and on their mental and physical preparation.
Team | Number | Tire | Driver | Age | Nationality | 2013Result | |||||||
TEAM MUGEN | 0 | Bridgestone | Yuhki Nakayama | 26 | Japan |
GT300 Champion | |||||||
Tomoki Nojiri | 24 | Japan | New entry | ||||||||||
AUTOBACS RACING TEAM AGURI | 55 | Bridgestone | Shinichi Takagi | 43 | Japan | GT300 7th | |||||||
Takashi Kobayashi | 26 | Japan |
In compliance with the new regulations, Honda will supply the HR-414E, a newly developed 2.0L inline 4-cylinder direct injection turbo engine, to eight machines raced by four teams, through Japan Race Promotion Inc. Honda's goal is to have racing teams powered by Honda engines make 2014 a dual title season, by adding a team title to a repeat of last season's drivers' title.
Team | Number | Driver | Age | Nationality | 2013 Result | ||||||
TEAM MUGEN | 1 | Naoki Yamamoto | 25 | Japan | SF Champion | ||||||
2 | Yuhki Nakayama | 26 | Japan | SF 17th | |||||||
HP REAL RACING | 10 | Koudai Tsukakoshi | 27 | Japan | SF 15th | ||||||
11 | Vitantonio Liuzzi | 32 | Italy | New entry | |||||||
NAKAJIMA RACING | 31 | Daisuke Nakajima | 25 | Japan | SF 12th | ||||||
32 | Takashi Kogure | 33 | Japan | SF 8th | |||||||
DOCOMO TEAM DANDELION RACING | 40 | Tomoki Nojiri | 24 | Japan | New entry | ||||||
41 | Hideki Mutoh | 31 | Japan |
- SF: Japanese Championship SUPER FORMULA Series
For developing racing talent, Honda directs the Honda Formula Dream Project (HFDP), which focuses on discovering and cultivating young, skilled drivers to be active in motorsports. For this season, Honda will support three drivers competing in Japanese Formula 3 Championship Series (F3) and three drivers competing in Formula 4 (F4)*12, a junior formula car race.
*12 Formula 4 (F4) was started in 1993 as a racing category placed between FJ1600 and F3. As a regional championship sponsored by the Japan Automobile Federation, two series are now being held-one each in Eastern Japan and Western Japan.For this season, Nobuharu Matsushita, Tsubasa Takahashi and Shota Kiyohara will compete in the Japanese Formula 3 Championship Series, supported by Honda's active involvement.
Category | Team | Number | Driver | Age | Nationality | 2013 Result | |||||||
F3 | HFDP RACING | 7 | Nobuharu Matsushita | 20 | Japan | F3 5th | |||||||
8 | Tsubasa Takahashi | 17 | Japan | FCJ 2nd | |||||||||
TODA RACING | 2 | Shota Kiyohara | 20 | Japan | F3 6th |
As a racing category for cultivating young, skilled drivers to be active in motorsports, Honda is moving forward from the Formula Challenge Japan (FCJ)*13 that was a focus of its support activities through last season. The new focus will be on Formula 4 (F4), where Honda will support the participation of three drivers this season.
Category | Driver | Age | Nationality | 2013 Result | |||||
F4 | Keishi Ishikawa | 19 | Japan | FCJ 3rd | |||||
Nirei Fukuzumi | 17 | Japan | - | ||||||
Natsu Sakaguchi | 18 | Japan | - |
Seeking to develop riders and drivers who will become formidable contenders on the global motorsports stage, Mobilityland Corporation opened the Suzuka Circuit Racing School Junior (SRS-J) for motorcycles in 1992, the Suzuka Circuit Racing School Kart (SRS-K) for Kart in 1993, and the Suzuka Circuit Racing School Formula (SRS-F) for automobiles in 1995, and has continued to operate these schools. Top-class riders and drivers provide guidance at these schools as instructors. The Suzuka Circuit Racing School has produced competitive racers for the MotoGP and Formula One Grand Prix. Many graduates have been active in numerous motorcycle and automobile racing categories both in Japan and overseas. Racers in training who demonstrate outstanding results at SRS-F will receive training scholarships for their participation in F4, a category for stepping up to higher level competition.
IndyCar® SeriesIn the IndyCar® Series this year, Honda Performance Development, Inc. (HPD), an affiliate of American Honda Motor Co., Inc., will supply the new 2.2L V6 HI14TT twin turbo engines for the 10 machines of 7 teams (information as of February 7) with, as it gears up for capturing both the drivers' and engine manufacturers' titles.
Takuma Sato, who last season became the first Japanese driver to win a race in this series will drive once more for A.J. Foyt Racing.
Team | Number | Driver | Age | Nationality | 2013 Result |
A.J. Foyt Racing | 14 | Takuma Sato | 37 | Japan | IndyCar® Series 17th |
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