Honda 2014 Motorsports Program Overview

Transcription

1 Honda 2014 Motorsports Program Overview ref. # C February 7, 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. 1. Motorsports Strategy Motorcycle activities 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 3 rd 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. -1-

2 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 liters 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-

3 2. Outline of Motorsports Promotion Activities Honda 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 races Mobilityland 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 Mobilityland Category Schedule Title Circuit WCT April FIM Trial World Championship Series Twin Ring Motegi, (Sat. Sun.) Round 2 Grand Prix of Japan Tochigi EWC July Endurance World Championship Series Suzuka Circuit, (Thu. Sun.) Round 2 Suzuka 8hours Endurance Road Race Mie ARRC September FIM Asia Road Racing Championship Series Suzuka Circuit, (Fri. Sun.) Round 4 Race of Japan Mie F1 October FIA Formula One World Championship Suzuka Circuit, (Fri. Sun.) Round 15 Japanese Grand Prix Mie MotoGP October FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix Series Twin Ring Motegi, (Fri. Sun.) Round 16 Grand Prix of Japan Tochigi WTCC October FIA World Touring Car Championship Suzuka Circuit, (Sat. Sun.) Race of Japan Mie -3-

4 Enjoy Honda 2014 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 (Japanese only). Enjoy Honda 2014 schedule Schedule Event name Venue April Enjoy Honda Suzuka 2014 (held jointly with motorcycle and Suzuka Circuit, Mie (Sat. Sun.) automobile races at Suzuka) April Honda Safety & Riding Enjoy Honda Kumamoto 2014 (Sat. Sun.) PLAZA Kyushu, Kumamoto May Honda Safety Training Enjoy Honda Kagawa 2014 (Sat. Sun.) Center Shikoku, Kagawa July Fuji International Speedway, Enjoy Honda Fuji 2014 (Sat. Sun.) Shizuoka August Enjoy Honda Motegi 2014 (held jointly with motorcycle and Twin Ring Motegi, Tochigi (Sat. Sun.) automobile races at Motegi) September Enjoy Honda Sugo 2014 Sportsland SUGO, Miyagi (Sat. Sun.) September Enjoy Honda Sapporo 2014 TBD. (TBD.) (Tentative name ) Current schedule as of February 7, 2014 Honda Racing THANKS DAY 2014 To show its appreciation to motorsports fans, Honda will host Honda Racing THANKS DAY. Honda Racing THANKS DAY 2014 schedule Schedule Event name Circuit November 23 (Sun.) Honda Racing THANKS DAY 2014 Twin Ring Motegi, Tochigi -4-

5 Honda Eco Mileage Challenge 2014 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, 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 Japan Schedule 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 (Sat. Sun.) Sept. 27: Practice runs Sept. 28: Finals 34th Soichiro Honda Cup Honda Eco Mileage Challenge 2014 National Competition *7 The event name was changed to Honda Eco Mileage Challenge starting in Super Speedway, Twin Ring Motegi, Tochigi Honda Sports & Eco Program 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. -5-

6 N-ONE OWNER S CUP As 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 Cup The 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 Cup Starting 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 Trophy CBR250R 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. -6-

7 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. Factory Option *8 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 Open Category *8 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 *8 The MotoGP, the premier class of the FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix Series, will stage its races in two categories starting in 2014, the Factory Option and the Open Category (replaces the former CRT class). In the Factory Option, it is possible to modify the ECU (engine control unit) software provided by the organizer, while up to five engine units may be used on the same vehicle in one season and a fuel tank capacity of up to 20L is allowed. In the Open Category, ECU software modifications are not allowed, but up to 12 engine units can be used per vehicle during a season and the maximum fuel tank capacity is 24L. -7-

8 <Moto2 class> 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 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 Moto2 Participated from Round 13, IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia 25 Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman 29 Malaysia Asia Road Racing Championship SS600 Champion 30 Takaaki Nakagami 21 Japan Moto2 8th <Moto3 class> 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 FIM Endurance World Championship Series - Suzuka 8hours Endurance Road Race 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.) -8-

9 FIM Superbike World Championship Series The 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 65 Jonathan Rea 27 U.K. WSB 9th Pata Honda World Superbike Team CBR1000RR 91 Leon Haslam 30 U.K. WSB 13th FIM Asia Road Racing Championship Series 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 Md Zamri Baba ARRC 3rd MuSASHi Boon Siew Honda Racing Makoto Tamada ARRC 8th Md Zaqhwan Zaidi ARRC 10th A.P. Honda Thailand Peerawat Wongthananon ARRC 19th Jakkrit Swangswat ARRC 20th Ratthapong Wilairot ARRC 17th Thai Honda Racing Suhathai Chaemsap - CBR600RR Suzuka 4hours Endurance Dimas Pratama Champion Astra Honda Racing All-Japan Road Race Denny Triyugo Laksono J-GP3 24th Tomoyoshi Koyama ARRC 5th T. Pro Yuzy Honda Satoru Iwata ARRC 13th Sasitharen Sukumaran ARRC 23rd -9-

10 Motocross FIM Motocross World Championship Series 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. MXGP (Former MX1) Team Class Number Machine Rider Age Nationality 2013 result WMX MXGP 777 Evgeny Bobryshev 26 Russia MX1 8th Team HRC (Former CRF450RW WMX MX1) 12 Maximilian Nagl 26 Germany MX1 10th 2-stroke: 175cc-250cc; 4-stroke: 290cc-450cc MX2 Team Class Number Machine Rider Age Nationality 2013 result WMX 243 CRF250RW Tim Gajser 17 Slovenia MX2 20th Team Gariboldi MX2 JMX (IA2) 400 CRF250R Kei Yamamoto 22 Japan 2nd 2-stroke: 100cc-175cc; 4-stroke: 175cc-250cc MFJ All-Japan Motocross Championship Series 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 MFJ All-Japan 1 Akira Narita 33 Japan IA1 Champion IA1 CRF450RW MFJ All-Japan 2 Makoto Ogata 28 Japan IA1 2nd Team HRC MFJ All-Japan 1 Toshiki Tomita 24 Japan IA2 Champion IA2 CRF250RW MFJ All-Japan 113 Masami Tanaka 24 Japan IA2 8th -10-

11 Trial FIM Trial World Championship Series 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 1 Toni Bou 27 Spain WCT Champion Repsol Honda Team 5 Takahisa Fujinami 34 Japan WCT 5th Rally racing The Dakar 2014 Argentina-Bolivia-Chile 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 7 Helder Rodrigues 34 Portugal Dakar th overall 3 Joan Barreda 30 Spain Dakar th overall Victories in 5 stages Team HRC 14 Javier Pizzolito 33 Argentina Dakar rd overall 18 Sam Sunderland 24 U.K. Dakar 2014 Withdrew Victory in 1 stage 10 Paulo Goncalves 35 Portugal Dakar 2014 Withdrew -11-

12 MFJ All-Japan Championship Series MFJ All-Japan Road Race Championship Series (JRR), MFJ All-Japan Motocross Championship Series (JMX) 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 Series Main 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) J-GP2, Machine: Honda CBR600RR Team Number Rider 2013 result 634 Naomichi Uramoto 3rd (JRR J-GP2) MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO 73 Chojun Kameya 9th (JRR ST600) MORIWAKI RACING 72 Yuki Takahashi Competed in Moto2 ST600, Machine: Honda CBR600RR Team Number Rider 2013 result TOHO Racing Powered by MORIWAKI 104 Hiromichi Kunikawa 10th (JRR ST600) MFJ All-Japan Motocross Championship Series (JMX) 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) IA2 Class, Machine: Honda CRF250R Team Number Rider 2013 result TEAM ITOMO 35 Kohei Ogawa 6th (JMX IA2) TEAM 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) Ladies Class (LX), Machine: Honda CRF150R 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) -12-

13 All-Japan Trial Championship Series (JTR) Honda will support a team belonging to HRC Service Shop for competition in the All-Japan Trial Championship Series. IAS Class, Machine: Honda RTL260F Team Number Rider 2013 result 1 Tomoyuki Ogawa Champion (IAS) HRC CLUB MITANI 6 Akira Shibata 6th (IAS) -13-

14 Overview of Automobile Racing Strategy FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) 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 GP2 series 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 -14-

15 SUPER GT Series <GT500 class> 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 2013 result AUTOBACS RACING Vitantonio Liuzzi 32 Italy New entry 8 Bridgestone TEAM AGURI Kosuke Matsuura 34 Japan GT500 11th Koudai Tsukakoshi 27 Japan KEIHIN REAL RACING 17 Bridgestone GT500 2th Toshihiro Kaneishi 35 Japan Weider Modulo Naoki Yamamoto 25 Japan GT500 4th 18 Michelin DOME Racing Jean Karl Vernay 26 France New entry Daisuke Nakajima 25 Japan GT500 15th Epson Nakajima Racing 32 Dunlop Bertrand Baguette 27 Belgium New entry Takashi Kogure 33 Japan GT500 10th TEAM KUNIMITSU 100 Bridgestone GT300 Hideki Mutoh 31 Japan Champion SUPER GT Series <GT300 class> 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 2013 result GT300 Yuhki Nakayama 26 Japan TEAM MUGEN 0 Bridgestone Champion Tomoki Nojiri 24 Japan New entry AUTOBACS RACING Shinichi Takagi 43 Japan 55 Bridgestone GT300 7th TEAM AGURI Takashi Kobayashi 26 Japan Japanese Championship SUPER FORMULA Series 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 No point SF: Japanese Championship SUPER FORMULA Series -15-

16 Driver Development Program: Honda Formula Dream Project (HFDP) 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. <Japanese Formula 3 Championship> 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 7 Nobuharu Matsushita 20 Japan F3 5th HFDP RACING F3 8 Tsubasa Takahashi 17 Japan FCJ 2nd TODA RACING 2 Shota Kiyohara 20 Japan F3 6th <Formula 4 (F4)> 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 Keishi Ishikawa 19 Japan FCJ 3rd F4 Nirei Fukuzumi 17 Japan - Natsu Sakaguchi 18 Japan - *13 Formula Challenge Japan (FCJ): A junior formula car race founded in 2006 through the cooperation of three automakers Toyota, Nissan and Honda and ended in Driver Development Program: Suzuka Circuit Racing School (SRS) 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 Series In 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 -16-