Honda Introduces “Honda Asia-Dream Racing”
The Honda Group of Companies in Asia & Oceania have officially introduced “Honda Asia–Dream Racing,” which is a new motorcycle racing team comprising riders that have been recruited from Honda racing teams and companies across the Asia & Oceania region during a press conference in Bangkok.
Malaysian rider Zaqhwan Zaidi will ride the Honda CBR1000RR, competing in the Superbike class in the Motorcycle Federation of Japan (MFJ) All-Japan Road Race Championship for the 2018 season before moving into the inaugural ASB1000 class at the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) Asia Road Racing Championship in 2019.
Honda has long had a challenging dream to develop world-class motorcycle riders from the Asia & Oceania region. Honda companies in the region have been involved in various motorsport activities to develop team members and young riders, ranging from organizing local racing programs to participating in international races with their own team at the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) in the AP250 and SS600 class, as well as the Suzuka 8-hour Endurance Race.
With the experience gained and promising race results aligning with an announcement by FIM ARRC that it would add a new ASB1000 class for the 2019 season, Honda is taking a major step into world-class racing. The Honda Group of Companies in Asia & Oceania announced its participation in this new class by establishing the Honda Asia-Dream Racing team today.
In prior to the introduction of the Honda Asia-Dream Racing team, Honda’s ASEAN racing team, the Satu Hati Honda Team Asia participated and competed in the Suzuka 8-Hour Endurance Race since 2012. The Honda Asia-Dream Racing team succeeds the same spirits and expands its challenge to the Superbike class in international championship races in Asia.
The team consists of mechanics and members recruited from Honda’s subsidiary companies and their racing teams across the Asia & Oceania region. Makoto Tamada, former MotoGP and World Superbike rider and team manager of the Satu Hati Honda Team Asia, will continue in his role as manager of the new Honda Asia-Dream Racing team, and Malaysian Zaqhwan Zaidi, the champion in the ARRC SS600 class for two years, was selected as the rider of the CBR1000RR SP2 machine.
The team will take on its first challenge at the MFJ All-Japan Road Racing Championship (JRR) in 2018 in the JSB1000 class, as well as competing in the famous Suzuka 8-hour Endurance Race. In 2019, the Honda Asia-Dream Racing team will change its focus from the JRR to the inaugural ASB1000 class in the FIM ARRC, with an ultimate goal of winning the race. In addition, the team will participate in the Suzuka 8-Hour Endurance Race and competes at some of the JRR races.
With the collaboration of team members from Honda companies throughout the Asia & Oceania region, Honda Asia-Dream Racing will strive to deliver the best race results to realize the dream of having a Honda team and riders become a serious challenger in world-class motorcycle racing.
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