HONDA’S PARTICIPATION IN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RACING AND DAKAR RALLY 2021 –
December 10, 2020 – Honda announced its plans for participation in FIM*1 motorcycle motorsports world championship racing series for the 2021 season and the Dakar Rally 2021, through an online event held by the company. Honda aims to win the world’s major titles through its Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) operated factory teams*2, and its satellite teams*3.
In 2020, Ricky Brabec gave Honda its first Dakar victory in 31 years by winning the Dakar Rally 2020, held for the first time in Saudi Arabia. In FIM Road Racing World Championship series racing, in which Honda has participated since 1959, Jaume Masia won the Moto3 class race in Round 12, giving Honda its 800th victory in the series. In the premier class of the FIM Motocross World Championship series, Tim Gajser claimed back-to-back titles for his third overall championship, and in the FIM Trial World Championship series, Toni Bou won his 14th premier class title in as many years.
In 2021, Honda will aim to dominate each premier class in road, motocross and trial championships through its HRC factory teams. HRC will also compete in premier production bike racing series, the FIM Superbike World Championship series, and aim to defend its Dakar crown in the 2021 edition. In the FIM Endurance World Championship series, Yuki Takahashi, winner of the new ST1000 class in the 2020 MFJ*4 All Japan Road Racing Championship (JRR), will join F.C.C. TSR Honda France. In the AMA*5 SuperCross World Championship 450SX class, American Honda’s factory team “Team Honda HRC” will continue to race.
Racing is Honda’s driving force, and by competing in the various racing series, its technology and associates are taken to the next level, and it‘s racing spirit and newly developed technologies are applied to many of its products. Honda will continue, through its products, services and racing, to make its dreams come true with its customers, in the spirit of its corporate slogan “The Power of Dreams.”
*1 FIM: Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme
*2 Factory teams: Teams operated by motorcycle manufacturers
*3 Satellite teams: Teams receiving bike and technical support from manufacturers
*4 MFJ: Motorcycle Federation of Japan
*5 AMA: American Motorcyclist Association
Honda’s 2021 Participation in Motorcycle World Championship Racing
◆ FIM Road Racing World Championship Series (MotoGP)
＜MotoGP Class＞
| Team | Machine | No. | Rider | Age | Nationality | 2020 results |
| Repsol Honda Team
☆*6 |
RC213V
☆*6 |
93 | Marc Márquez
☆*6 |
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 |
*6 Team ☆ indicates factory team, machine ☆ indicates factory bike, rider ☆ indicates HRC rider
＜Moto2 Class＞
| Team | Machine | No. | Rider | Age | Nationality | 2020 results |
| IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia | KALEX | 35 | Somkiat Chantra | 21 | Thailand | Moto2
25th |
| 79 | Ai Ogura | 19 | Japan | Moto3
3rd |
＜Moto3 Class＞
| Team | Machine | No. | Rider | Age | Nationality | 2020 results |
| Honda Team Asia | NSF250RW
☆ |
19 | Andi Farid Izdihar | 23 | Indonesia | Moto2
30th |
| 92 | Yuki Kunii | 17 | Japan | Moto3
27th |
◆ FIM Superbike World Championship Series (SBK)
| Team | Machine | No. | Rider | Age | Nationality | 2020 results |
| 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 Series (EWC)
| Team | Machine | No. | Rider | Age | Nationality | 2019-2020 results |
| F.C.C. TSR Honda France | CBR1000RR-R FIREBLADE SP | 5 | Josh Hook | 27 | Australia | EWC
3rd |
| Mike Di Meglio | 32 | France | ||||
| Yuki Takahashi | 36 | Japan | JRR ST1000
Champion |
◆ FIM Motocross World Championship Series (MXGP)
| Team | Machine | No. | Rider | Age | Nationality | 2020 results |
| Team HRC
☆ |
CRF450RW
☆ |
243 | Tim Gajser
☆ |
24 | Slovenia | MXGP
Champion |
| 43 | Mitchell Evans
☆ |
22 | Australia | MXGP
14th |
◆ AMA SuperCross World Championship Series (450SX)
| Team | Machine | No. | Rider | Age | Nationality | 2020 results |
| Team Honda HRC | CRF450R | 94 | Ken Roczen | 26 | Germany | 450SX
3位 |
| 23 | Chase Sexton | 21 | U.S.A. | 250SX EAST
Champion |
◆ FIM Trial World Championship Series (TrialGP)
| Team | Machine | No. | Rider | Age | Nationality | 2020 results |
| Repsol Honda Team
☆ |
Montesa
COTA 4RT ☆ |
1 | Toni Bou
☆ |
34 | Spain | TrialGP
Champion |
| 7 | Takahisa Fujinami
☆ |
40 | Japan | TrialGP
7th |
- The Dakar 2021
| Team | Machine | No. | Rider | Age | Nationality | 2020 results |
| Monster Energy Honda Team
☆ |
CRF450
RALLY ☆ |
1 | Ricky Brabec
☆ |
29 | U.S.A. | Dakar 2020
Champion |
| 4 | José Ignacio Cornejo
☆ |
26 | Chile | Dakar 2020
4th |
||
| 47 | Kevin Benavides
☆ |
31 | Argentina | Dakar 2020
19th |
||
| 88 | Joan Barreda
☆ |
37 | Spain | Dakar 2020
7th |
