Honda 2021 Motorsports Program Overview

January 15, 2021

News Release

January 15, 2021 - Honda Motor Co., Ltd. announced its motorsports activities/teams for the 2021 season and initiatives to expand the popularity of motorsports.

Since the days of its founding, Honda has been strengthening its technologies, human resources and organizations and sharing the fun, joy and inspirational experiences with many fans and customers by competing in various races. In 2021, Honda will continue to compete in the most prestigious motorcycle and automobile races in the world, including plans to compete in various races in different categories in Japan and in other regions around the world. Striving to share dreams and inspirations with people as the world continues to be in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic, everyone involved in Honda motorsports activities, including riders, drivers, engineers, mechanics and other team members, will work as one “TEAM Honda” and compete with full force. 

【Motorcycle activities】

In the 2020 season, Honda won the Dakar Rally for the first time in 31 years. Honda also achieved the 800th FIM*1 World Championship Grand Prix victory while winning championship titles in the premier classes of the FIM Motocross World Championship and the FIM Trial World Championship as well.

In the 2021 season, Honda will compete with the factory teams*2 operated by Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) and strive to win the championship in the Dakar Rally 2021 which is currently in progress, in the premier classes of all three categories of the World Championship – road race, motocross and trial – as well as the FIM Superbike World Championship.

In addition to factory teams, with excellent satellite teams*3, Honda will compete in the FIM Endurance World Championship and the FIM World Championship of the AMA*4 Supercross Championship. Moreover, in Japan and many other countries and regions, teams formed by local Honda subsidiaries and dealers will participate and strive to win championship titles in the road race, motocross and trial categories. 

As a new initiative starting this year, Honda will begin the Honda Superbike Challenge Program, designed to support riders who compete in road race championships around the world to further advance themselves. As a part of this program, Ryo Mizuno who competed in the JSB 1000 class of the MFJ*5 All-Japan Road Race Championship last year with MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO.Honda team, will begin competing in the British Superbike Championship this season.

Honda will continue to foster young riders. In the 2021 season, Honda will continue to support Honda Team Asia, which will compete in the Moto2 and Moto3 classes of MotoGP. Moreover, as an opportunity for young riders to step up, Honda will continue supporting riders competing in the FIM CEV Repsol Moto3 Junior World Championship. In addition, Honda will continue to utilize IDEMITSU Asia Talent Cup (IATC) as a program designed to foster young riders to discover and foster more riders who can compete in world-class races.

【Automobile activities】

In the FIA*6 Formula One World Championship (F1TM) where Honda competes as a power unit (PU) supplier, Honda won three race championships in the 2020 season.  For 2021 season, Honda will continue to supply the power units with the same specifications to Scuderia Alpha Tauri and Red Bull Racing and will strive to win the world championship.

Following the footsteps of Yuki Tsunoda who will be making his F1 debut this year with Scuderia Alpha Tauri, Honda will support participation of youryoung Japanese drivers who are striving to compete in the highest peak in the world of automobile racing in the FIA Formula3 Championship (F3) and other races.

In Japan, Honda will make changes to the team structure and strive for consecutive wins in both the GT500 class of the SUPER GT Series and the Japanese SUPER FORMULA Championship for which Honda captured the double titles last season.

As for customer racing which feature machines based on mass-market models, Honda will not only supply machines, but also extending the support for each team in order to make the race more competitive.

Civic Type-R based racing machines, Civic TCR will also be featured in the FIA World Touring Cup (WTCR) as well as TCR series and endurance races which are gaining popularity globally. Moreover, Honda will supply the NSX GT3 Evo to the GT championships and endurance races held in North America, Asia and Europe.

In North America, through Honda Performance Development (HPD), Honda will supply engines to 16 cars of 6 teams which will compete in the IndyCar® Series.

*1 FIM: Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme
*2 Factory team: A team operated by the manufacturer of the machine
*3 Satellite team: A team that receives a machine/technological support from the manufacturer of the machine
*4 AMA: American Motorcyclist Association
*5 MFJ: Motorcycle Federation of Japan
*6 FIA: Fédération Internationale de l‘Automobile

 

■ Overview of Honda Teams          As of January 15, 2021

 《Overview of Honda Participation in Motorcycle Racing》

 《World Championship》

FIM Grand Prix World Championship (MotoGP)

<MotoGP>

Team Machine No. Rider Age Nationality 2020 result
Repsol Honda Team
*7
RC213V
*7
93 Marc Márquez
*7
27 Spain MotoGP
-
44 Pol Espargaro
29 Spain MotoGP
5th
LCR Honda IDEMITSU 30 Takaaki Nakagami
28 Japan MotoGP
10th
LCR Honda CASTROL 73 Alex Márquez
24 Spain MotoGP
14th

*7 ☆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

◆FIM Superbike World Championship (SBK)

Team Machine No. Rider Age Nationality 2020 result
Team HRC
CBR1000RR-R FIREBLADE SP
19 Álvaro Bautista
36 Spain SBK
9th
91 Leon Haslam
37 U.K. SBK
10th

FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC)

Team Machine No. Rider Age Nationality 2019-2020 result
F.C.C. TSR Honda France CBR1000RR-R FIREBLADE SP 5 Josh Hook 28 Australia EWC
3rd
Mike Di Meglio 32 France
Yuki Takahashi 36 Japan JRR ST1000
Champion

FIM Motocross World Championship (MXGP)

Team Machine No. Rider Age Nationality 2020 result
Team HRC
CRF450RW
243 Tim Gajser
24 Slovenia MXGP
Champion
43 Mitchell Evans
22 Australia MXGP
14th

FIM Trial World Championship (TrialGP)

Team Machine No. Rider Age Nationality 2020 result
Repsol Honda Team
Montesa
COTA 4RT
1 Toni Bou
34 Spain TrialGP
Champion
7 Takahisa Fujinami
40 Japan TrialGP
7th

 《Japan》

MFJ*5All-Japan Road Race Championship (JRR)

<JSB1000 class>

Team Machine No. Rider Age Nationality 2020 result
Astemo Honda Dream SI Racing CBR1000RR-R FIREBLADE SP 2
Ryuichi Kiyonari 38 Japan JSB1000
2nd
Honda Dream RT Sakurai Honda 3 Sodo Hamahara 25 Japan JSB1000
3rd
Team ATJ 6 Satoru Iwata 34 Japan JSB1000
6th
MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO. Honda TBA Teppei Nagoe 23 Japan ST1000
2nd

<ST1000 class>

Team Machine No. Rider Age Nationality 2020 result
Japan Post Honda Dream TP CBR1000RR-R FIREBLADE SP 1 Yuki Takahashi 36 Japan ST1000
Champion
Astemo Honda Dream SI Racing CBR1000RR-R FIREBLADE TBA Kazuma Watanabe 30 Japan JSB1000
5th
3 Kosuke Sakumoto 24 Japan ST1000
3rd
SDG Motor Sports RT HARC-PRO. 5 Ikuhiro Enokido 22 Japan ST1000
5th

<ST600 class>

Team Machine No. Rider Age Nationality 2020 result
Japan Post Honda Dream TP CBR600RR 3 Tomoyoshi Koyama 37 Japan ST600
3rd
MOTO BUM HONDA 5 Kohta Arakawa
18 Japan ST600
5th
15 Kohki Suzuki 20 Japan ST600
15th
TOHO Racing 10 Takuma Kunimine 22 Japan ST600
10th
MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO. 14 Haruki Noguchi 19 Japan ST600
14th

MFJ All-Japan Motocross Championship (JMX)

<IA1 class>

Team Machine No. Rider Age Nationality 2020 result
Honda Dream Racing Bells CRF450R 1 Kei Yamamoto 29 Japan IA1
Champion
Honda Dream Racing
HAMMER
4 Makoto Ogata 35 Japan IA1
4th
Bells Racing 6 Yohei Kojima 35 Japan IA1
6th
T.E.SPORT with GOSHI
7 Gota Otsuka
24 Japan IA1
7th
T.E.SPORT
TBA Kazunori Ono 21 Japan -
TBA 10 Takumu Yokosawa 22 Japan IA1
10th
TEAM HAMMER Honda
Technical College
11 Yuta Ikegaya 31 Japan IA1
11th
TEAM KOHSAKA with
CARVEK
14 Ukyo Michiwaki 26 Japan IA1
14th
18 Hakuryu Michiwaki 22 Japan IA1
18th

<IA2 class>

Team Machine No. Rider Age Nationality 2020 result
Honda Dream Racing Bells
CRF250R 2 Kainosuke Oshiro 21 Japan IA2
2nd
TEAM HAMMER Honda
Technical College
15 Eiki Suzumura 21 Japan IA2
15th
Team ITOMO 22 Yusuke Mori 22 Japan IA2
22nd
T.E. SPORT TBA Mizuki Negishi 22 Japan -
Team Sakurai with FFF 010 Shuya Tomioka 20 Japan IB-OPEN
10th

<Ladies class (LMX)>

Team Machine No. Rider Age Nationality 2020 result
T.E. SPORT CRF150RⅡ 1 Manaka Kawai 18 Japan LMX
Champion
4 Iroha Ono 18 Japan LMX
4th
19 Kotono Yamazaki 13 Japan LMX
19th
Team ITOMO 9 Nanami Katsumata 26 Japan LMX
9th

MFJ All-Japan Trial Championship (JTR)

<IA Super class (IAS)>

Team Machine No. Rider Age Nationality 2020 result
TEAM MITANI Honda RTL300R 1 Tomoyuki Ogawa 44 Japan IAS
Champion
5 Seiya Ujikawa 18 Japan IAS
5th

 《Asia》

◆FIM Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC)

<ASB1000 class>

Team Machine No. Rider Age Nationality 2020 result
Honda Asia-Dream Racing with SHOWA CBR1000RR-R FIREBLADE 21 Zaqhwan Zaidi 25 Malaysia ARRC ASB1000
31 Gerry Salim 23 Indonesia ARRC ASB1000

* Teams competing in the SS600 and AP250 classes will be announced as soon as details are finalized. 

 《Europe》

British Superbike Championship (BSB)

Team Machine No. Rider Age Nationality 2020 result
Honda Racing CBR1000RR-R FIREBLADE SP TBA Glenn Irwin 30 U.K. BSB
4th
TBA Ryo Mizuno 22 Japan JSB1000
4th

 《North America》

AMA Supercross, An FIM World Championship (450SX)

Team Machine No. Rider Age Nationality 2020 result
Team Honda HRC CRF450R 94 Ken Roczen 26 Germany 450SX
3rd
23 Chase Sexton 21 U.S.A. 250SX East
Champion

AMA Supercross, An FIM World Championship (250SX West)

Team Machine No. Rider Age Nationality 2020 result
Team Honda HRC CRF250R 41 Hunter Lawrence 21 Australia 250SX West
23rd
18 Jett Lawrence 17 Australia 250SX West
10th

AMA Pro Motocross Championship (450MX)

Team Machine No. Rider Age Nationality 2020 result
Team Honda HRC CRF450R 94 Ken Roczen 26 Germany -
23 Chase Sexton 21 U.S.A. 450MX
5th

AMA Motocross Championship (250MX)

Team Machine No. Rider Age Nationality 2020 result
Team Honda HRC CRF250R 41 Hunter Lawrence 21 Australia 250MX
13th
18 Jett Lawrence 17 Australia 250MX
4th

 《Other Regions》

Dakar Rally 2021

Team Machine No. Rider Age Nationality 2020 result
Monster Energy Honda Team
CRF450
RALLY
1 Ricky Brabec
29 U.S.A. Dakar Rally
Champion
4 José Ignacio Cornejo
26 Chile Dakar Rally
4th
47 Kevin Benavides
32 Argentina Dakar Rally
19th
88 Joan Barreda
37 Spain Dakar Rally
7th

 《Overview of Honda Participation in Automobile Racing》

 《World Championships》

FIA Formula One World Championship (F1)

Team No. Driver Age Nationality 2020 result
Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 10 Pierre Gasly 24 France F1
10th
22 Yuki Tsunoda 20 Japan F2
3rd
Red Bull Racing 11 Sergio Pérez 30 Mexico F1
4th
33 Max Verstappen 23 Netherlands F1
3rd

FIA World Touring Car Cup (WTCR)

Team No. Driver Age Nationality 2020 result
TBA 9 Attila Tassi 21 Hungary WTCR
12th
18 Tiago Monteiro 44 Portugal WTCR
15th
29 Nestor Girolami 31 Argentina WTCR
10th
86 Esteban Guerrieri 35 Argentina WTCR
4th

 《Japan》

Japanese SUPER FORMULA Championship (SF)

Team No. Driver Age Nationality 2020 result
TCS NAKAJIMA RACING 1 Naoki Yamamoto 32 Japan SF
Champion
64 Toshiki Oyu 22 Japan SF
6th
DOCOMO TEAM DANDELION RACING 5 Nirei Fukuzumi 23 Japan SF
8th
6 Tadasuke Makino 23 Japan SF
12th
Threebond Drago CORSE 12 Tatiana Calderón 27 Columbia Competed
in SF
TEAM MUGEN 15 TBA - - -
16 Tomoki Nojiri 31 Japan SF
5th
B-Max Racing 50 TBA - - -
51 TBA - - -

SUPER GT <GT500 class>

Team No. Driver Age Nationality 2020 result
TEAM KUNIMITSU 1 Naoki Yamamoto 32 Japan GT500
Champion
Tadasuke Makino 23 Japan
ARTA 8 Tomoki Nojiri 31 Japan GT500
5th
Nirei Fukuzumi 23 Japan
TEAM Red Bull MUGEN 16 Ukyo Sasahara 24 Japan GT500
14th
Toshiki Oyu
22 Japan GT300
4th
Astemo REAL RACING 17 Kodai Tsukakoshi 34 Japan GT500
3rd
Bertrand Baguette 34 Belgium
Modulo Nakajima Racing 64 Takuya Izawa 36 Japan GT500
12th
Hiroki Otsu 26 Japan

SUPER GT <GT300 class>

Team No. Driver Age Nationality 2020 result
TEAM UPGARAGE 18 Takashi Kobayashi 33 Japan GT300
15th
Teppei Natori
20
Japan
SF LIGHTS
4th
ARTA 55 Shinichi Takagi 50 Japan GT300
7th
Ren Sato 19 Japan French F4
2nd

 《North America》

IndyCar Series

Team No. Driver Age Nationality 2020 result
Chip Ganassi Racing 9 Scott Dixon 40 New Zealand IndyCar Series
Champion
10 Alex Palou 23 Spain IndyCar Series
17th
8 Marcus Ericsson 30 Sweden IndyCar Series
12th
48 Jimmie Johnson 45 U.S.A. NASCAR CUP Series 18th
Andretti Autosport 27 Alexander Rossi 29 U.S.A. IndyCar Series
3rd
26 Colton Herta 20 U.S.A. IndyCar Series
7th
TBA TBA - - -
TBA TBA - - -
TBA TBA - - -
Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport TBA TBA - - -
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing 30 Takuma Sato 43 Japan IndyCar Series
7th
15 Graham Rahal 32 U.S.A. IndyCar Series
6th
Meyer Shank Racing 60 Jack Harvey 27 U.K. IndyCar Series
15th
6 Hélio Castroneves 45 Brazil IndyCar Series
27th
Dale Coyne Racing TBA TBA - - -
TBA TBA - - -

 《Motorcycle Racing Rider Development》

FIM Road Racing World Championship (MotoGP)

<Moto2>

Team Machine No. Rider Age Nationality 2020 result
IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia KALEX 35 Somkiat Chantra 22 Thailand Moto2
25th
79 Ai Ogura 19 Japan Moto3
3rd

<Moto3>

Team Machine No. Rider Age Nationality 2020 result
Honda Team Asia NSF250RW
19 Andi Farid Izdihar 23 Indonesia Moto2
30th
92 Yuki Kunii 17 Japan Moto3
27th

FIM CEV Repsol Moto3 Junior World Championship

Team Machine No. Rider Age Nationality 2020 result
Astra Honda Racing Team NSF250RW
16 Mario Aji 16 Indonesia CEV Moto3
16th
Asia Talent Team 32 Takuma Matsuyama 16 Japan CEV Moto3
14th
A.P. Honda Racing Thailand 33 Tatchakorn Buasri 19 Thailand CEV Moto3
21st

 《Automobile Racing Driver Development》

FIA Formula3 Championship (F3)

Team No. Driver Age Nationality 2020 result
Hitech GP TBA Ayumu Iwasa 19 Japan French FIA F4
Champion

F3 Asian Championship

Team No. Driver Age Nationality 2020 result
Hitech GP TBA Ayumu Iwasa 19 Japan French FIA F4
Champion

All-Japan Super Formula Lights (SFL)

Team No. Driver Age Nationality 2020 result
TODA RACING 2 Ren Sato 19 Japan French FIA F4
2nd

Suzuka Circuit Racing School

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 (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 where top-class riders and drivers provide guidance as instructors. To date, these SRS programs have produced a number of outstanding riders and drivers who have been competing their respective motorcycle and automobile racing categories inside and outside Japan.

In the area of motorcycle racing, in 2016, SRS-Junior was renamed as SRS-Moto, and its rider development system and curriculum as well as the 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.

In the area of automobile racing, SRS-Kart and SRS-Formula will maintain the structure established in 2019, with Takuma Sato and Shinji Nakano as Principal and Vice Principal, respectively, to further strengthen the environment to foster young drivers.

Honda initiatives to expand the popularity of motorsports

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 series sponsored by Honda Racing Corporation (HRC)

HRC is hosting various one-make races a year 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 features mass-market models, as well as the NSF100 HRC Trophy, which features the NSF100 a mass-market road racer of HRC 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 (at Suzuka or Motegi) for riders who fulfill certain conditions and offering support for riders to step up through training classes. In other words, the HRC one-make race series have been a stage where participants can enjoy the races and/or strive to realize their dreams.

<FIT 1.5 Challenge Cup>

As with last year, the FIT 1.5 Challenge Cup operated by Mobilityland Corporation, Okayama International Circuit Co., Ltd. and SUGO Co., Ltd., will be held at the Suzuka/Okayama Touring Car Championship and Motegi/Sugo Touring Car Championship this year as a quasi-domestic rank race approved by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF).

N-ONE OWNERS’ CUP

N-ONE OWNERS’ CUP is a participatory motorsports program that utilizes the N-ONE mini-vehicle. 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 Tsukuba Circuit. For these races, Honda will further enhance support provided to racing beginners.

<Honda Eco Mileage Challenge 2021>

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. Honda Eco Mileage Challenge will mark its 40th event in 2021, 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.

Honda Eco Mileage Challenge 2021: Schedule in Japan

Schedule Event name Circuit
June 12 (Sat.) 34th Honda Eco Mileage Challenge 2021, Suzuka East Course,
Suzuka Circuit (Mie)
June 19 (Sat.) 12th Honda Eco Mileage Challenge 2021, Motegi West Course,
Twin Ring Motegi (Tochigi)
Aug. 1 (Sat.): Practice runs
Aug. 2 (Sun.): Finals
36th Honda Eco Mileage Challenge 2021, Kyushu Circuit Course,
HSR Kyushu (Kumamoto)
Oct. 16 (Sat.): Practice runs
Oct. 17 (Sun.): Finals
40th Soichiro Honda Cup
Honda Eco Mileage Challenge 2021,
National Competition
Super Speedway,
Twin Ring Motegi (Tochigi)

Honda Racing THANKS DAY 2021

To show its appreciation to motorsports fans, Honda will again host Honda Racing THANKS DAY 2021 at Twin Ring Motegi. The date and program details will be posted on the website as soon as they are available.

For Reference: Main international races hosted by Mobilityland Corporation

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 Suzuka Circuit will host a multitude of events again in 2021, including the F1 Japanese Grand Prix, where Yuki Tsunoda, the first Japanese driver competing in F1 in seven years, is expected to show a great performance. Other races to be hosted by the Suzuka Circuit in 2021 include the Suzuka 8 hours Endurance Road Race, which will be held as a part of the FIM Endurance World Championship, the Suzuka 10 hours Endurance Race, which is positioned as a global unified race of the FIA-GT3 machines.

Twin Ring Motegi will continue hosting various races throughout the year including the FIM Grand Prix World Championship race, 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.

Main international races to be hosted by Mobilityland

Category Schedule Title Circuit
TrialGP May 15-16
(Sat. – Sun.)
2021 FIM Trial World Championship
Round 1 Japanese Grand Prix
Twin Ring Motegi
(Tochigi)
EWC July 15-18
(Thu. – Sun.)
2021 FIM Endurance World Championship
The 43rd “Coca-Cola” Suzuka 8 hours Endurance Road Race
Suzuka Circuit
(Mie)
IGTC August 19-22
(Thu. – Sun.)
2021 The 49th Summer Endurance
Suzuka 10 hours Endurance Race
Suzuka Circuit
(Mie)
MotoGP October 1-3
(Fri. – Sun.)
2021 FIM MotoGPTM World Championship
Round 16, Grand Prix of Japan
Twin Ring Motegi
(Tochigi)
F1 October 7-10
(Thu. – Sun.)
2021 FIA Formula One World Championship
Round 17 Japanese Grand Prix
Suzuka Circuit
(Mie)