January 12, 2018 - Honda Motor Co., Ltd. announced plans for its motorsports activities for the 2018 season and initiatives to expand the popularity of motorsports.

Since the days of its founding, Honda has been engaged in various motorsports activities in pursuit of being the best in the world. Last year, in the area of motorcycle racing, Honda captured the “Triple Crown” – rider, constructor and team championships – in the FIM^*1 Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix (MotoGP). In the FIM Trial World Championship (WCT), Honda won the championship for the 11th consecutive year. Moreover, Honda also dominated the top class of the three categories of motorcycle races in Japan, namely the JSB1000 class of the MFJ^*2 All-Japan Road Race Championship (JRR), the IA1 (450cc) class of the MFJ All-Japan Motocross Championship and the IAS class of the MFJ All-Japan Trial Championship (JTR).

Furthermore, in the area of automobile racing, Takuma Sato became the first Asian driver to win the prestigious Indianapolis 500 (Indy 500) in the 101st running of the race.

In 2018, under the corporate slogan of “The Power of Dreams,” Honda will take on continuous challenges while always being determined to win.

In MotoGP, the premier class of the FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix, Marc Márquez, the four-time World Champion who won the championship in 2017 for the second consecutive year, and Dani Pedrosa, a 13-year veteran in this class, will continue to race for Repsol Honda Team, a Honda factory team^*3, riding the 2018 model of the RC213V factory machine.

In addition, four other riders will compete in MotoGP, namely Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda CASTROL), Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda IDEMITSU) who is moving up to the MotoGP class this season, Franco Morbidelli and Thomas Lüthi (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS).

With a total of three teams with six riders, Honda will strive to win the MotoGP “Triple Crown” – rider, constructor and team championships.

In the Moto3 class, where Honda won the championship last year, Honda will supply its 2018 model of the NSF250RW factory machine for 7 teams/13 riders and strive to win the championship for the second consecutive year.

In the MXGP class, the premier class of the FIM Motocross World Championship, Tim Gajser, who finished the 2017 season in 5th place and Brian Bogers, who newly joined the team this season from the MX2 class, will race for Team HRC, Honda’s factory team. Both riders will ride the 2018 model of the CRF450RW factory machine and strive to regain the championship title. Moreover, in the MX2 class, Calvin Vlaanderen will race for Team HRC, riding a CRF250RW works machine and vie for the title.

In the FIM Trial World Championship (WCT), as with last year, Toni Bou, the reigning champion for the last 11 seasons, and Takahisa Fujinami, a 24-year veteran in WCT will race for Repsol Honda Team, a Honda factory team, riding the COTA4RT factory machine.

In the 450SX class of the AMA^*4 Supercross, an FIM World Championship, Cole Seely and Ken Roczen will race for Team Honda HRC, Honda’s factory team operated by American Honda Motor Co., Inc., a Honda subsidiary in the U.S. With the 2018 model of CRF450R, the riders will vie for the championship.

In the FIM Superbike World Championship (WSB), Leon Camier and Jake Gagne will race with the CBR1000RR SP2-based racing machine for Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team supported by Honda Motor Europe Ltd., a Honda subsidiary in the U.K.

In the Suzuka 8 hours Endurance Road Race, which is the final round of the FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC), starting this year’s race, Takumi Takahashi will race for Team HRC, Honda’s factory team. Honda will select other riders for the team from among Honda riders who compete in the world and regional championships.

In the SS600 class of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC), Md Zaqhwan Zaidi who finished the 2017 season in second place, Azroy Anuar, who newly joined from IATC and Tomoyoshi Koyama, also new addition to the team who captured second place in the AP250 class in 2017, will race for MuSASHi Boon Siew Honda Racing, a team striving to regain both the team and rider titles. Moreover, in the AP250 class, Astra Honda Racing Team will race for their consecutive championship.

In the JSB1000 class of the MFJ All-Japan Road Race Championship (JRR), starting this season, Takumi Takahashi will begin racing for Team HRC, Honda’s factory team, riding a CBR1000RR SP2-based racing machine. In addition, Sodo Hamahara (Team Sakurai Honda), Tatsuya Yamaguchi (Team SuP Dream Honda) will race from this season. Yuki Takahashi and Ryuichi Kiyonari (MORIWAKI MOTUL RACING), Kosuke Akiyoshi (au & Teluru MotoUP Racing) will continue to race in this class for their respective teams. Moreover, Ryo Mizuno (MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO.Honda), the 2017 J-GP2 champion, will move up and face the JSB1000 class and Md Zaqhwan Zaidi will race for a new team, Honda Asia-Dream Racing.

In the IA1 class of the MFJ All-Japan Motocross Championship(JMX), Kei Yamamoto, the 2017 champion, will team up with Akira Narita who has won 11 championships in JMX series and race for Team HRC, Honda’s factory team, riding the CRF450RW factory machine, and strive to win a second consecutive championship title in this class. Moreover, in the IA2 class, Chihiro Notsuka, who has won IA2 championship in 2016 season, will race for Team HRC.

In the IAS class of the MFJ All-Japan Trial Championship (JTR), Tomoyuki Ogawa, who won his seventh championship title last year, will race for HRC CLUB MITANI riding the RTL300R and vie for the championship title for the sixth consecutive year, which is unprecedented in the IAS class.

Honda will compete in the FIA^*5 Formula One World Championship (F1) as a power unit supplier for Toro Rosso Honda (tentative) with two drivers, Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley.

In the GT500 class of the SUPER GT, as with last year, Honda will compete with five teams/five machines. Honda will vie for titles by further maturing the NSX-GT which was introduced in 2017. Moreover, Jenson Button, who made his SUPER GT debut at the Suzuka 1000km last year will become the first F1 champion to compete for a full season in SUPER GT.

In the Japanese SUPER FORMULA Championship (SF), with the new addition of Shinji Matsushita who has been advancing his skills in the FIA Formula 2 Championship (F2)^*6 which is positioned as one of the gateways to the F1 and Nirei Fukuzumi, who began competing in the GP3 Series^*7 in 2016, Honda will strive to capture the dual titles of driver and team championships with its five teams/eight machines.

In the IndyCar Series in North America, Honda Performance Development, Inc. (HPD), a subsidiary of American Honda Motor Co., Inc., is planning to supply the HI18TT, 2.2-liter V6 twin turbo engines for 12 machines raced by five teams. Takuma Sato, in his ninth season, will return to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and vie for the Indy500 championship for the second consecutive year as well as the series championship.

NSX-GT3, a racing machine based on a production NSX model announced last year, will be competing in a number of GT championships and endurance races around the world such as North America, Europe and Japan, and a Civic TCR will be competing in the FIA World Touring Car Cup (WTCR), a new series which takes over the WTCC, as well as other touring car races around the world through customer teams. Not only supplying these racing machines but also enhancing customer support structure, Honda will work with each team and take on challenges to empower more teams to enjoy highly competitive racing.

★ on a team name indicates a factory team of Honda, ★ on a machine name indicates a factory machine of Honda, ★ on a rider’s name indicates an HRC contract rider

*Details of Honda Teams and riders will be announced as soon as decided.

In road racing, in conjunction with Honda’s racing activities in Asia where people’s interest in motorcycle racing is growing rapidly, Honda strives to help young riders in this region to tackle the challenge of competing in the FIM Road Racing World Championship and realize their dreams. This year, Takaaki Nakagami will be moving up to MotoGP class and taking a major first step toward the realization of his dreams.

Honda will continue supporting Honda Team Asia competing in the Moto2 and Moto3 classes of the MotoGP. Tetsuta Nagashima, a new addition to the IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia, and Khairul Idham Pawi, who is in his second year in this class, will compete in the Moto2 class. Nakarin Atiratphuvapat and Kaito Toba will continue racing for Honda Team Asia in the Moto3 class.

In addition, as for the programs designed to foster young riders, Honda will continue to utilize IDEMITSU Asia Talent Cup (IATC) hosted by Dorna Sports, S.L., which also hosts MotoGP, to discover and foster the world-class riders. For the IATC, the NSF250R developed exclusively for racing will be used. The IATC will be held six rounds in this year concurrently with MotoGP and the FIM Superbike World Championship in Asia.

Moreover, as an opportunity for young riders to step up, Honda will continue supporting the riders competing in the FIM CEV Repsol Moto3 Junior World Championship.

In motocross racing, Honda will continue to host training sessions in Japan for team riders competing in the MFJ All-Japan Motocross Championship. Moreover, Honda also will continue its talent fostering programs which includes providing opportunities for young riders with future potential to join a training camp in the U.S. and compete in MXGP races.

For auto racing, Honda has been operating the Honda Formula Dream Project (HFDP), a program designed to discover talented young drivers and help them step up to play active roles in the world of motorsports. Nirei Fukuzumi will advance from the GP3 and also compete in the F2 with Arden International.

In Japan, to promote the step up of young and talented drivers who play active roles in the world of motorsports, Honda will continue supporting drivers who compete in the All-Japan Formula3 Championship and the FIA-F4 Japanese Championship*8, which is a formula race intended for junior drivers.

<For Reference>
For the purpose of developing riders and drivers who will become formidable contenders on the global motorsports stage, Mobilityland Corporation has been operating the Suzuka Circuit Racing School-Junior for motorcycle riders since 1992, Suzuka Circuit Racing School-Kart since 1993 and the Suzuka Circuit Racing School-Formula since 1995 where top-class riders and drivers provide guidance as instructors. To date, these SRS programs have produced a number of outstanding riders and drivers, including Takuma Sato, who are now competing successfully domestically and internationally in their respective categories. A new program, SRS-Formula Challenge, was added to the lineup in 2015. In 2018, the first generation of drivers in this program will receive a scholarship and begin competing in the FIA-F4 Japanese Championship, a category for stepping up to higher level competition.

In the area of motorcycle racing, starting in 2016, SRS-Junior was renamed as SRS-Moto, and its rider development system and curriculum as well as machines used in the program were renewed so that they are geared toward the development of riders who can compete at the level of world championships such as MotoGP. The SRS-Moto also has a scholarship program with which selected riders become a part of TEAM SRS-Moto, a racing team operated by this school, which will continue to compete in the MFJ All-Japan Road Race Championship in the 2018 season.

Honda has been making active efforts to expand the popularity of motorsports. In order to convey the fascination of motorsports to a broader range of people, Honda has been conducting various events and activities including ones that can be enjoyed more casually by those people who are not yet so familiar with motorsports.

<One-make race sponsored by Honda Racing Corporation (HRC)>
HRC is hosting more than 300 one-make races a year at approximately 20 circuits throughout Japan under two categories of races with different purposes -- to simply enjoy motorsports and to foster future MotoGP riders.

The NSF100 HRC Trophy is a mini-bike class one-make race which features the NSF100 a mass-market road racer of HRC. There are two classes in this race – a class for adult riders to enjoy and a class to foster junior riders who will strive for the world.

Moreover, the HRC GROM Cup featuring the mass-market GROM was added as a class that is easier for riders to participate in even for those who never raced before. GROM Cup races are held mostly at mini-bike circuits throughout Japan.

The CBR250R Dream Cup is a one-make race featuring the CBR250R, a mass-market Honda motorcycle model, and has two classes – a beginners’ class and an expert class for more advanced riders. In 2017, HRC began hosting CBR250RR Dream Cup which features mass-market CBR250RR model and attracting riders who desire for a higher speed range.

Moreover, Honda has been hosting the HRC NSF250R Challenge which features the NSF250R, a mass-market Honda road racer model. The Japanese local championship for this race is held together with the race in the J-GP3 class at each circuit where J-GP3 is held. Small and limited modifications to the standard vehicle (HRC factory spec) are allowed, which helps to curb the running cost, thereby enabling a full-fledged racing experience at a lower cost.

HRC one-make race series is being held at a number of circuits throughout Japan. In addition, HRC has been hosting some Japan-wide races (at Suzuka or Motegi) for riders who fulfill certain conditions and offering support for riders to step up through training classes. In other words, HRC one-make race series has been a stage where participants can enjoy the races and/or strive to realize their dreams.

HRC will continue supporting these programs, while making these racing machines available in the market.

<Honda Sports & Eco Program>
In 2012, Mobilityland Corporation and M-TEC Co., Ltd. jointly started the Honda Sports & Eco Program, a participatory motorsports program, under the theme of “eco-friendly sports driving.” This program is designed to provide participants with a lighthearted experience of enjoying the fun of “driving, upskilling and competing,” behind the wheel of a rental Honda car with racing specifications provided to each participant through the program, toward the ultimate goal of promoting coexistence of the environment and sports driving. The program has been providing a four-step school program which enables motorsports beginners to strive for their racing debut with peace of mind as well as a four-times-a-year racing program for all levels of drivers. Moreover, the price structure of this program allows more people, including beginners and skilled sports drivers alike, to casually experience motorsports, making the program even more attractive to everyone.

<FIT 1.5 Challenge Cup>
In addition to Mobilityland Corporation and SUGO Co., Ltd., Okayama International Circuit will begin hosting the FIT 1.5 Challenge Cup, a one-make race featuring Fit. As a quasi-domestic rank race approved by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF), “Suzuka/Okayama Touring Car Championship” and “Motegi/Sugo Touring Car Championship” will be held this year.

<N-ONE OWNERS’ CUP>
N-ONE OWNERS’ CUP is a participatory motorsports program that utilizes the N-ONE mini-vehicle that has proven popular with a large number of customers. With the aim of letting many motorsports fans including racing beginners actively take part, the N-ONE OWNERS’ CUP started in 2014, taking the form of a sprint race with commercially available vehicles licensed for public roads. With this existing concept that has proven popular, this motorsports event will again be held at eight circuits spread around Japan: Suzuka Circuit, Twin Ring Motegi, Okayama International Circuit, Fuji Speedway, Autopolis International Racing Course, Sportsland SUGO, Tokachi Speedway and the new addition of Tsukuba Circuit in Ibaraki. For these races, Honda will further enhance support provided to racing beginners.

<Honda Eco Mileage Challenge 2018>
Since 1981, Honda has hosted the Honda Eco Mileage Challenge, an event focused on the environment. Participants combine their creativity, freewheeling thinking 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 38th year in 2018, and the cumulative number of teams participated since 1981 has exceeded 14,000 teams. The Honda Eco Mileage Challenge is now held not only in Japan but also in Thailand, China and Vietnam.

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. In 2018, Enjoy Honda events will be held at nine venues: In addition to Kumamoto, Mie, Miyagi, Shizuoka, Niigata, Hokkaido, Tochigi and Okayama, the event also will be held in Kagawa Prefecture for the first time in two years. At Suzuka Circuit and Twin Ring Motegi, Enjoy Honda will be held on the same day as the Suzuka 2&4 Races and Motegi 2&4 Races, respectively. Enjoy Honda 2018 will include various displays and events which enable participants to feel Honda more closely, including the display of Honda motorcycles, automobiles and power products as well as parent -child motorcycle lessons and a trial bike show, etc.^*9

To show its appreciation to motorsports fans, Honda will again host Honda Racing THANKS DAY in 2018.

Mobilityland Corporation strives to contribute to the further growth of a motorsports culture in Japan by hosting various events and races. Since its opening in 1962 as the first full-scale race 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 2018, including the 30th F1 Grand Prix as well as the Suzuka 8 hours Endurance Road Race which will be held as the final round of the FIM Endurance World Championship. Suzuka Circuit also will host new races including Suzuka 10 hours Endurance Race which will be positioned as a global unified race of the GT3 as well as the FIA World Touring Car Cup, etc.

Twin Ring Motegi celebrated its 20th anniversary last year and continued hosting various races throughout the year including the FIM Grand Prix World Championship races, which has been a tradition since the early days of this circuit, and will host many more races and events including the FIM Trial World Championship.

In addition to international motorcycle and automobile races, the Motorsports Fan Appreciation Day to be held on March 10-11 (Sat.-Sun.) at Suzuka Circuit, both circuits continue to offer fans the opportunity to watch and experience a wealth of Japanese and international motorsports events.