Honda to Hold its Official e-Motorsports Event, “Honda Racing eMS 2024”

  • Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) will hold Honda Racing eMS 2024, its second annual e-motorsports event, which attracted more than 200,000 participants last year
  • Qualifying time attack event (online) will begin on August 2, 2024
  • Final race event (live) will be held on December 1, 2024 at Honda Welcome Plaza Aoyama in Tokyo. Eligibility for the Challenge Class (18+ years of age) in the final race event, limited to residents of Japan last year, will be expanded to residents of all countries*1
  • Inugami Korone, a Japanese VTuber*2 with 2.11 million followers, will collaborate as an event ambassador

TOKYO, Japan, July 19, 2024 – Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) today announced that it will hold its official e-motorsports event, Honda Racing eMS 2024, using the Gran Turismo 7*3 (published by Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.) for PlayStation®5 (PS5®)*4 and PlayStation®4 (PS4®)*5. The qualifying event will be held online from August 2-September 1, 2024, and the final race event will be held as a live event on December 1, 2024 at Honda Welcome Plaza Aoyama in Tokyo, Japan.

Honda Racing eMS 2024

HRC, the motorsports arm of Honda, hosts the Honda Racing eMS e-motorsports events to offer more people a firsthand opportunity to experience the fun of driving race machines and the excitement of motorsports. The first ever Honda Racing eMS, held last year, was attended by more than 200,000 e-sports players. For this year’s second annual Honda Racing eMS, eligibility for the final race event for the class for competitors 18 years of age or older will be expanded to residents of any country.

The qualifying event (online), the GT Fastest Attack 2024, will be held from August 2 – September 1, 2024, with participants competing globally for the fastest lap time on Gran Turismo 7. All participants will use the RA272, Honda’s F1 (FIA®*6 Formula One World Championship) machine that brought Honda its first-ever F1 victory in 1965 in the Mexican Grand Prix.

The 10 top-ranked participants in each class of the “GT Fastest Attack 2024” will advance to the “GT Grand Final 2024” to be held on Sunday, December 1, 2024, at the Honda Welcome Plaza. For both the qualifying and final events, there will be two classes: the “U17 Class” for participants 17 years of age or under and the “Challenge Class” for participants 18 years old or older.

For Honda Racing eMS 2024, HRC has appointed Inugami Korone, a Japanese VTuber with 2.11 million subscribers*7, as an event ambassador who will convey the appeal of motorsports to a wider range of people. By collaborating with a VTuber who is not directly involved in motorsports, HRC will create opportunities for people with no previous point of contact with motorsports to be involved in Honda motorsports activities. 

*1: Countries and regions where PlayStation services are provided and where Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. has jurisdiction. Please see the terms of participation for details.

*2: VTuber stands for virtual YouTuber, which refers to YouTubers who produce and share videos they appear in as virtual characters and avatars generated using computer graphics.

*3, *4, *5: “PlayStation,” “PS5,” and “PS4,” “Gran Turismo,” and “GT” are registered trademarks of Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
Gran Turismo 7: © 2023 Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. Developed by Polyphony Digital Inc.
Manufacturers, cars, names, brands and associated imagery featured in this game in some cases include trademarks and/or copyrighted materials of their respective owners. All rights reserved. Any depiction or recreation of real-world locations, entities, businesses, or organizations are not intended to be or imply any sponsorship or endorsement of this game by such party or parties. "Gran Turismo" logos are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.

*6: Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile

*7: As of July 19, 2024

Comments by the Honda Racing eMS Ambassador, Inugami Korone:

“I have been appointed as the Honda Racing eMS Ambassador. Through my activities as an ambassador, I hope to learn more about cars myself, and I will do my best to convey the appeal of e-motorsports and motorsports to as many people as possible! I look forward to serving as an ambassador!”

About the online qualifying event: 

Event name

Honda Racing eMS 2024 – GT Fastest Attack 2024

Event period

Friday, August 2 – Sunday, September 1, 2024

Classes

1) U17 Class: 17 years of age or younger
2) Challenge Class: 18 years of age or older  

Event type

Global time attack on Gran Turismo 7

Participation requirements

Participants must be 6 years of age or older and able to play Gran Turismo 7 for PS5® or PS4® online.

Participation award

A car livery for the Honda Civic Type R CNF-R which participated in the ST-Q class in the 2024 Super Taikyu Series and an avatar created to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Honda F1 participation, which can be used in the Gran Turismo 7.

Image of the RA272 to be used in the time attack event
Image of the RA272 to be used in the time attack event
Image of a livery for Honda Civic Type R CNF-R to be offered as a participation award
Image of a livery for Honda Civic Type R CNF-R to be offered as a participation award

About the live final race event:

Event name

Honda Racing eMS 2024 – GT Grand Final 2024

Event period

Sunday, December 1, 2024

Event venue

Honda Welcome Plaza Aoyama in Tokyo, Japan

Event type

Final race program on Gran Turismo 7
Total of 20 participants will be invited to the final race event
(10 for each class)

  • 1) U17 Class: The 10 top-ranked participants in the qualifying event who live in Japan will be invited.
  • 2) Challenge Class: 10 participants will be invited (last year’s winner, 4 top-ranked qualifying event participants who live in Japan, and the 5 top-ranked qualifying event participants who live outside Japan).  
Inugami Korone

More details including how to participate, the list of participants, program details and the event schedule will be updated on the following websites:
https://honda.racing/  (English)
https://honda.racing/ja  (Japanese)