Honda announced its motorsports participation plans for the 2026 season.

Since first entering the Isle of Man TT races in 1959, with company founder Soichiro Honda’s passion to become the world’s number one in technology, Honda has continued to participate in various motorcycle and automobile races around the world. Many riders and drivers from yesteryear have competed on the world stage, and no matter how many times they have faced challenges, have overcome and accumulated victories by pushing on, undaunted. Motorsports is the perfect stage to hone technologies and nurture engineers. In 2026, Honda will continue to strengthen this challenging spirit and develop motorsports activities with the riders, drivers, and people who fight alongside Honda.

In 2025, Honda HRC achieved a fourth consecutive victory at the Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Road Race, with Takumi Takahashi extending his own record to a total of seven wins—the most in the event’s history. In addition, Toni Bou claimed championship titles in both the FIM^*1 Trial World Championship and the FIM X-Trial World Championship, accomplishing the extraordinary feat of 38 consecutive titles across the two series. Furthermore, in the SuperMotocross World Championship held in the United States, Jo Shimoda became the first Japanese rider to win the championship in the 250cc class.

In 2026, in the FIM Road Racing World Championship MotoGP class, the factory team Honda HRC Castrol will continue with a two-rider lineup consisting of Joan Mir and Luca Marini. For the satellite team, Honda LCR will again field two riders, retaining Johann Zarco, who claimed victory at his home round, the French Grand Prix, last season, alongside Diogo Moreira, the reigning Moto2 World Champion, who joins the team as a new entrant.

In the FIM Superbike World Championship (WSBK), the factory team Honda HRC will refresh its rider lineup, while welcoming six-time WSBK champion Jonathan Rea as a development rider. Together, they will further enhance the competitiveness of the CBR1000RR-R FIREBLADE SP.

In the FIM Motocross World Championship, Honda will strengthen its team structure in the premier MXGP class, expanding from a two-rider to a three-rider lineup. Alongside continued performance development of the CRF450R, Honda aims to reclaim the MXGP championship title for the first time in four years.

In both the FIM Trial World Championship TrialGP class and the FIM X-Trial World Championship, Toni Bou will challenge himself to extend his record to a combined total of 40 consecutive titles. He is also currently competing in the Dakar Rally 2026 in Saudi Arabia, striving to reclaim the overall title.

Honda aims to achieve carbon neutrality across all motorcycle products in the 2040s. While continuing to advance ICE (internal combustion engine) technologies, Honda is positioning motorcycle electrification as a central pillar of its future environmental strategy. Electrification efforts will also continue in motorsports. Following its participation in the FIM Trial World Championship Trial2 class last year, where it secured second place in the championship standings, RTL ELECTRIC will move up to the premier TrialGP class and compete at the highest level of the series.

*1 FIM: Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme

In 2026, Honda will newly enter the FIA^*2 Formula One World Championship (F1) as a factory power unit supplier to the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team (AMAF1). Honda’s motorsports operations arm, Honda Racing Corporation (HRC), will be responsible for the core activities of F1 participation, including the development, manufacturing, and trackside operation of the power unit (PU).

The 2025 season marked the final year in which Honda provided technical support and marketing collaboration as a team partner to Oracle Red Bull Racing and the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls. At the final round of the season, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Max Verstappen achieved a pole-to-win result, providing a fitting conclusion to the eight-year partnership. From 2026 onward, Honda will take on a new challenge together with AMAF1, aiming once again for the pinnacle of the sport.

In Japan-domestic racing, during the 2025 All-Japan Super Formula Championship^*3, TEAM MUGEN driver Ayumu Iwasa claimed the Drivers’ Championship. Meanwhile, DOCOMO TEAM DANDELION RACING, represented by Tadasuke Makino and Kakunoshin Ohta, secured the Teams’ Championship. The team will once again target a double title in the 2026 season.

In the SUPER GT Series^*4, STANLEY TEAM KUNIMITSU, with Naoki Yamamoto and Tadasuke Makino, finished second overall in the 2025 season. For 2026, Honda will introduce the all-new HRC PRELUDE-GT, based on the Prelude.

From an operational standpoint, Honda will appoint a new Technical Director to provide cross-team support for the five teams campaigning the HRC PRELUDE-GT. This structure will strengthen collaboration among teams and drivers while improving the quality of technical feedback to HRC’s Sakura development division. In addition, Car No. 8 will compete under the newly named Team HRC ARTA MUGEN, with multiple dedicated HRC engineers assigned, further deepening HRC’s direct involvement. Through these initiatives, Honda aims to reclaim the championship title.

Furthermore, Yuto Nomura, champion of the All-Japan Super Formula Lights Championship, will step up to Super Formula with San-Ei Gen with B-Max, and will also compete in the SUPER GT GT500 class with Astemo REAL RACING.

In North America, Honda will continue supplying power units to five teams competing in the IndyCar Series through Honda Racing Corporation USA (HRC US). In the IMSA^*5 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, two Acura ARX-06 entries supplied by HRC US will compete in the top-tier GTP class. Continuing its partnership with Meyer Shank Racing, Car No. 93 will again see HRC US engineers responsible for key aspects of team operations, further accelerating both human resource development and technical advancement.

In addition, Kakunoshin Ohta, who began competing in IMSA last year, will once again contest two events with the team this season, including the 24 Hours of Daytona.

*2 FIA: Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile

*3 Supervised and operated by JAPAN RACE PROMOTION INC.

*4 Supervised and operated by GTA Co., Ltd.

*5 IMSA: International Motor Sports Association

* FIM Grand Prix World Championship Moto2

* Endurance drivers competing in races of 6 hours or more

For the purpose of developing riders and drivers who will become formidable contenders on the global motorsports stage, Honda has been involved in nurturing world-class riders and drivers at the Suzuka Circuit Racing School-Junior (SRS-Junior) for motorcycle riders since 1992, Suzuka Circuit Racing School-Kart (SRS-Kart) since 1993 and the Suzuka Circuit Racing School-Formula (SRS-Formula) since 1995. As a result, these programs have produced a number of outstanding riders and drivers who have been competing in their respective motorcycle and automobile racing categories inside and outside Japan. In 2022, with a goal to further increase the quality of development programs in each category, Suzuka Circuit School was renamed as the Honda Racing School Suzuka (HRS), where top-class riders and drivers provide guidance as instructors.

In the area of motorcycle racing, Honda will continue the activities of Honda Team Asia, which will continue to compete in the Moto2 and Moto3 classes of MotoGP in the 2026 season, and also utilize Idemitsu Moto4 Asia Cup as a program designed to foster young riders. Through these initiatives, Honda will strive to discover and foster more riders who can compete in world-class races.

In the area of automobile racing, Honda will further strengthen the environment to foster young drivers by offering development opportunities in junior formula categories in Europe, FIA-F4 or SUPER FORMULA LIGHTS in Japan, and other races through the Honda Formula Dream Project (HFDP).

After competing strongly in the Formula Regional European Championship (FRECA) and the Formula Regional Middle East Championship (FRMEC) in 2025, Taito Kato will take on the challenge in the Formula Regional Middle East Trophy (FRME, formerly FRMEC) in 2026 while stepping up to the FIA Formula 3 Championship. Meanwhile, Kota Tsuchihashi, who has earned an HRS scholarship, will move on to the French F4 Championship. Kotaro Shimbara, who finished fourth in the Japanese FIA F4 Championship in 2025, will compete in the All-Japan Super Formula Lights Championship. For the Japanese FIA F4 Championship, Sho Momose will be entering his second year, while Kazuma Kurosawa, who graduated from HRS, will be joining the championship for the first time.

* Special promotion for achieving 3rd place or higher in the Rookies Cup

Honda has been making active efforts to expand the popularity of motorsports, through various events and activities that can be enjoyed more casually by people who are not yet so familiar with motorsports.

HRC is hosting one-make races at approximately 30 circuits throughout Japan under two categories of races with different purposes - to simply enjoy motorsports and to foster future MotoGP riders.

The one-make race series hosted by HRC include HRC GROM Cup, CBR250R Dream Cup and CBR250RR Dream Cup, which feature production models, as well as the NSF100 HRC Trophy, which features the NSF100, an HRC production model racer and the HRC NSF250R Challenge which is designed to foster future MotoGP riders.

The one-make race series are being held at a number of circuits throughout Japan. In addition, HRC has been hosting some Japan-wide races for riders who fulfill certain conditions and offering support for riders to step up through training classes. The HRC one-make race series enables participants to enjoy racing and/or strive to realize their dreams.

Since 1981, Honda has hosted the Honda Eco Mileage Challenge, where participants combine their creativity, free thinking and technology and compete to see how far their handcrafted vehicles can travel on one liter of fuel. The 2026 event is scheduled to include regional competitions at three locations across Japan, followed by a national final.

This program is designed to foster technical skills and environmental awareness among the next generation, and continues to evolve as part of Honda’s initiatives toward achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. From the 2026 event onward, the official fuel will be switched to carbon-neutral fuel. In addition, a new Electric Motorcycle Class will be introduced at the national final, providing a broader platform for diverse technological challenges.