NEW DELHI: Honda Motorcycle And Scooter India’s (HMSI) motorsport division, Honda Racing India has finally introduced the Moto3 grade NSF250R motorcycle for its Indian One Make championship.
Additionally, the Japanese brand also announced its strategy for the 2019 season as it looks to participate in the Pro Stock 200-300cc class of the Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship with six riders powering in the Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing team.
Moreover, Honda Racing India will also conduct its talent hunt in five cities this year to identify next-generation riders in the age bracket of 13-17 years.
Minoru Kato – president & CEO, Honda 2Wheelers India, announced Honda’s 2019 game-changing motorsport plans with aggressive focus on 2 areas – brand leadership & structural development. The 2019 plans are the next step towards realizing Honda’s racing direction ‘To develop ICONIC Indian rider for national & international championships’.
Sharing an overview of Honda’s domestic racing plans for 2019 and the future roadmap, Kato said: “In 2018, we were first to create a solo Indian team at international Asia Road Racing Championship. In 2019, we are taking the next step and bringing the best of world’s motorsport to India. I am proud to share that Indian riders will now race on the same machine platform as world champions of Moto3. Honda’s two-pronged approach of brand leadership & structural development, not only spells our ambition to lead motorsport culture in India today; but moreover, create the next iconic rider from India and fast-track their development to the world level with a 360-degree roadmap. My dream is to create a future iconic rider for the world from India.”
Elaborating on Honda’s plan, Prabhu Nagaraj, vice president – Brand and Communications, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt Ltd, said: “Worldwide, racing starts at a very young age. To address this problem in India, we introduced the IDEMITSU Honda India Talent Hunt – a platform to identify young riders in 2018. Already, these young guns are showing high-potential. As next step, Honda is now bringing the world to India with the Moto3 machine NSF250R. This revolutionary step is the first ever by any manufacturer and will exponentially accelerate development of future stars of racing and propel them in the international arena too. Parallely, with the debut into Pro-Stock 200-300 category, Honda will challenge itself to further lead and expand the motorsport culture in India.”
