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Corporate January 29, 2001 |
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| Promotion & Personnel Training Activities |
Motor Sports Promotion Activities
Honda is dedicated to working closely with motor racing facilities and specialist
companies to provide people with opportunities to watch, join, and enjoy
a variety of motor sports events. Together with companies like Suzuka Circuitland
Co., Ltd., Twin Ring Motegi Co., Ltd., and Honda Racing Corporation, the
company will continue to develop an environment that gives more people a
better chance to enjoy all that motor sports have to offer.
Motorcycle Racing Promotion Activities
To aid the expansion of grassroots two-wheeled motor sports, Honda will
organize a wide variety of events for motorcycle riders, including those
who do not own their own racing or kid-sized machines. The company will
cooperate closely with dealers, distributors, and local communities in conducting
events designed to offer more opportunities and a better environment for
people to enjoy the sport potential inherent in motorcycles. In support
of these activities (many of which are described below) Honda will work
hard to supply purpose-built racing machines, motor sport-oriented base
models, and kits and parts for modification activities.
- The 21st "Soichiro
Honda Cup" Honda National Econo-Power Competition
- Last year's Econo-Power
Competition held on September 30 and October 1, 2000 celebrated the
event's 20th anniversary with entries by 518 specially designed vehicles
(some from as far away as China, Thailand, and Russia) competing to
achieve ultimate fuel economy on the Super Speedway course at Twin Ring
Motegi. The winner of this special 20th anniversary event was "Team
Vient" in Group 2 (open class), which broke a seven-year record with
an astonishing 3,165.987 kilometers per liter.
This important competition continues anew in this first year of the
21st century as Twin Ring Motegi once again hosts contestants from Japan
and abroad on September 23 and 24.
- Support for
Promotion of New Road Race Categories
- The Motorcycle Federation
of Japan (MFJ) will introduce several new categories designed to stimulate
further interest in motorcycle racing. These new categories include
the National, Regional and Area Championships, as well as a new ST600
class in the Suzuka 4-Hour Endurance Race, an event supporting the legendary
Suzuka 8-Hour Endurance Race.
Honda will lend its support for the MFJ's new category by offering a
racing-oriented CBR600F that spirited amateur riders will be able to
race in competitions after removing parts and components included to
meet roadworthiness requirements. All Honda dealers and distributors
nationwide will be accepting orders for this CBR600F. Other kinds of
support will also be provided for a wide range of riders intending to
participate in the 4-hour competition.
-
"Come-and-Join" Events
- Mini-Bike Races
Mini-bike races will be held at kart and mini circuits using production-model
50cc motorcycles. These races will be organized on an ongoing basis by local
distributors and based on regulations designed specifically to allow easy
participation by riders of all experience levels.
"Parent-and-Child"
Riding Meetings
Offered for primary school children and their parents at four Traffic Education
Centers and Tama Tech amusement park, these events use motorcycles as a
medium for parents to teach their children about the joy of riding, while
also communicating with them about the importance of social rules and traffic
manners. This basic concept has remained unchanged since the event was inaugurated
in 1994. A total of 2,444 people enjoyed participating in 186 Parent-and-Child
Riding Meetings throughout 2000.
Honda "Dream Kids"
School
Honda "Dream Kids" educational events are designed to give youngsters opportunities
to experience the joy of handling off-road motorcycles. They aim to give
students a fuller understanding of traffic rules and proper riding manners,
teach them how to work with and ride motorcycles in the real world, and
also teach the importance of environmental preservation. Regional local
distributors will be responsible for organizing events in their areas, supported
by Honda's offering of several off-road motorcycle models including the
XR50, XR70 and XR100.
Honda Sport-Riding
School
Under the slogan of "bring your bike and brush up your riding skills," this
one-day training program will be held at fifty sites throughout Japan. During
the class participants come to understand and acknowledge their own limits
as well as the limits of their machines as they explore the essence of smarter,
safer riding and techniques to improve their control while riding. Additionally,
Team Mari (Representative: Mari Igata), in cooperation with Honda, will
offer special training programs oriented to the needs of women riders. Training
for those intending to apply for the International 'A' license will also
be conducted. Participants are required to have a valid medium/large motorcycle
license and must supply their own motorcycle. The number of sessions will
be increased this year.
Honda Motorcyclist
School (HMS)
Eight Traffic Education Centers will organize HMS programs for a variety
of levels from novice to experienced, with professional instructors on hand
to impart a wide range of basic and advanced motorcycle-riding knowledge
and know-how. In 2000, 8,396 riders participated in 638 HMS events, and
total participation since the program's conception in 1978 has now reached
130,000.
Automobile Racing Promotion Activities
- Civic Single-Make
Races
- The Civic Single-Make
Races, which were one of the first nationwide single-make competitions,
continue to provide enthusiasts with racing opportunities, with the
aim of promoting motor sports and contributing to the evolution of motor
sports culture. Last year, a total of 26 such events in five regional
series attracted over 800 entrants. The Civic Challenge Cup Race, held
at Suzuka Circuit as a special event during the Formula 1 Japanese Grand
Prix, is well known as a national festival for Civic racers.
Civic single-make races will be held in five local regions, centered
around the 6-round "Civic Intercup Series", which travels to six major
domestic racetracks. Originally established in 1981 at Suzuka Circuit,
the excitement and enjoyment will be greater than ever as Civic single-make
racing enters its twenty-first season this year.
The overall Civic Single-Make series consist of 29 races held in several
regions. These include five races in the Tohoku (North-Eastern) series,
six in the Higashi Nippon (Eastern) series, six in the Suzuka series
and five in the Nishi Nippon (Western) series, plus the special feature
"Civic Challenge Cup Race" held in the presence of Formula 1 team officials
and drivers as part of the Japanese Grand Prix weekend.
|
2001 Civic Single-Make
Race Series (provisional) |
| Series
Name |
Races |
Venues |
| Intercup
Series |
6 |
SUGO,
Twin Ring Motegi, FISCO, Suzuka Circuit, MINE, and Tsukuba |
| Tohoku
(North-Eastern) Series |
5 |
Sendai
Highland and SUGO |
| Higashi
Nippon (Eastern) Series |
6 |
Twin
Ring Motegi, FISCO, and Tsukuba |
| Suzuka
Series |
6 |
Suzuka
Circuit |
| Nishi
Nippon (Western) Series |
5 |
MINE |
| Subtotal:
|
28 |
|
FIA
Formula 1 World Championship,
Japanese Grand Prix, Civic Challenge
Cup Race |
Suzuka
Circuit |
| Total: |
29 |
|
|
- "Enjoy 'A'-License"
Events
- The "Enjoy 'A'-License"
events give driving license holders two days of experience toward obtaining
the JAF National 'B' and National 'A' Competition licenses, a program
that has proved popular among racing enthusiasts. To meet the increasing
demand, Twin Ring Motegi and Suzuka Circuit will organize six and eight
such events, respectively, in 2001.
- Honda Driving
Meetings
- Honda Driving meetings
are designed to help owners of specific Honda automobiles get the most
out of their driving experience. They offer a wide variety of events
including basic driving safety instruction, racetrack experience, and
the chance to ride in the passenger seat with a professional driver,
all of which aim to enhance the safe-driving knowledge and skills of
participants through a variety of highly enjoyable, dynamic experiences.
Honda Driving Meetings:
- NSX Owner's Meeting
- Integra Type-R Concept Meeting
- Civic Type-R Concept Meeting
- S2000 Driving Forum
Personnel Training Activities
Honda embraces the challenge of cultivating top-class Japanese riders and
drivers from young motor sports enthusiasts, with the long-term goal of
enabling them to go on to compete in the most prestigious pinnacles of racing,
including MotoGP, Formula 1, and CART. In collaboration with Suzuka Circuit
and Twin Ring Motegi, the company will continue to offer a variety of educational
programs and support for both motorcycle and automobile racers.
Motorcycle Rider Training
Programs
- Honda Off-Road
School
- Honda Off-Road School
Classes will be held nationwide
for both novice riders (including women and kids) and advanced riders
who are participating, or intend to participate, in Motocross and Enduro
events.
Honda Trial School
Classes will be held nationwide
for a wide variety of riders, in support of Honda's conviction that
the skills required for trial events are rooted in balance, which is
also a fundamental element of safer, more enjoyable motorcycle riding.
- HRC Meetings
- HRC Meetings held throughout
Japan will offer ideal opportunities for determined motocross and trial
riders to improve their skill and knowledge. The instructional staff
made up of HRC factory riders, engineers, and technicians provide expert
education on ways to improve both physical and mental strength, information
on setting up motorcycles, and training to help build and improve riding
skills.
- Support for
SRS-J Organized by Suzuka Circuitland
- Honda will continue to
support the Suzuka Racing School-Junior (SRS-J) rider-training program
designed by Suzuka Circuitland. Entering its 9th year in 2001, SRS-J
has already borne fruit, many of its graduates having become major forces
in the Japanese Road Race Championship Series. Further, the SRS-J program
has been revised and renewed this year to offer an enhanced curriculum
and content.
Automobile Driver Training Programs
Taking a long-term view, Honda,
in close relationship with Suzuka Circuit and Twin Ring Motegi, continues
to work hard to offer training opportunities designed to help young racers
become "the best of the best" as future contenders in the world's top-level
racing categories. By combining the efforts of Honda and top racing facilities,
a systematic approach has been established for achieving this goal, including
a two-step program that begins with the Suzuka Racing School-Formula (SRS-F)
as the first phase, followed by Formula Dream (FD). Scholarships offered
to graduates with outstanding performance in Formula Dream (the final step
to becoming a professional racer) provide entry to the Formula 3000 racing
category both in Japan and abroad. Takuma Sato, the newly nominated BAR-Honda
Formula 1 test driver, and Tsugio Matsuda, recent Formula Nippon winner,
are only two examples of recent graduates.
- Support for
Formula Dream (FD)
- Formula Dream is a special
race series designed as an advanced program to follow SRS-F. Structured
as a one-year comprehensive training program, the series provides trainees
with both lectures on a variety of racing-related topics and opportunities
to take part in actual competitions. Through these, participants are
able to improve their driving skills, strategies and tactics, learn
how to train themselves for top mental and physical fitness as athletes,
and develop a deep knowledge of both racing machines and races. Formula
Dream, as a mid-level formula car race series, is overseen by the Formula
Dream Organization (FDO), which was established to organize the series
and maintain its effectiveness in achieving its aims. The FDO is also
responsible for handling scholarships offered to prospective graduates.
Kosuke Matsuura, winner of the 2000 scholarship, will participate in
the German Formula 3000 Championship in 2001.
The Formula Dream race calendar has been restructured for its third
year, resulting in a two-race, one-event schedule series. This, in conjunction
with more testing opportunities, including the pre-season open-to-public
test and five official tests, is intended to guarantee even further
exposure to as much racing and test experience as possible.
| 2001 Formula Dream
Calendar (provisional schedule of 13 races at 7 events) |
-
|
Rounds
|
Date |
Race Track
|
Event Name
|
| 1
& 2 |
Apr.
20 - 22 |
Twin
Ring Motegi
|
Formula Nippon
Rd. 2 Support |
| 3
& 4 |
May
11 - 13 |
Suzuka
Circuit
|
Super Endurance
Rd. 3 Support |
| 5
& 6 |
June
8 - 10 |
Suzuka
Circuit
|
Suzuka Clubman
Race Support |
| 7
& 8 |
June
29 - July 1 |
Suzuka
Circuit
East Course
|
Formula Nippon
Rd. 5 Support |
| 9
& 10 |
Sept.
14 - 16 |
Twin
Ring Motegi
|
Japanese GT
Championship Rd. 5 Support |
| 11
|
Oct.
12 - 14 |
Suzuka
Circuit
|
Super Challenge
Race Supporting the Fuji TV Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix
|
| 12
& 13 |
Nov.
16 - 18 |
Suzuka
Circuit
|
Formula Nippon
Rd. 10 Support |
|
- Support for
SRS-K and SRS-F
- Honda will continue to
support kart racing and formula car training programs (such as SRS-K
and SRS-F) offered by Suzuka Circuitland. The Suzuka Formula Racing
School (SRS-F), established in 1995 as Japan's first serious training
program for formula car drivers, has already paved the way for up-and-coming
drivers such as Takuma Sato and Tsugio Matsuda. Sato will be busy from
now as a BAR-Honda Formula 1 test driver, and Matsuda, following a sensational
win in his debut season in Formula Nippon, is expected to become a serious
contender for the top position in Japanese racing.
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