- Honda star athletes to gather at Mobility Resort Motegi to celebrate Honda’s year in motorsport on both two- and four-wheels
- High-performance vehicles from multiple racing disciplines will be on display and doing demonstration runs throughout the full-day programme
- Off-track sessions will allow fans to see their favourite motorsport stars up-close, and offer them the chance to participate in a range of activities
- Watch the action live in English or Japanese on the Honda Racing Global YouTube channel on 3 December
Stars from two- and four-wheel motorsport – including multiple world champions Marc Marquez and Max Verstappen – will descend upon Mobility Resort Motegi, Japan on Sunday 3 December for the 15th edition of the Honda Racing Thanks Day.
First held in 2005, the full day programme will see flagship racers perform demonstration runs out on track, in addition to a range of other activities for attendees – including pit lane and grid walks, e-games competitions, autograph sessions, plus a ‘circuit safari’.
Eight-time MotoGP world champion Marquez will no doubt take centre stage as he draws his incredibly successful time with the Repsol Honda Team to a close after 11 years. He will star alongside teammate Joan Mir and LCR Honda IDEMITSU rider Takaaki Nakagami.
They will be joined by Moto2’s Ai Ogura and Somkiat Chantra from IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia, plus FIM Endurance World Championship and F.C.C. TSR Honda France rider Josh Hook, following an exciting year with the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP. Team HRC’s Takumi Takahashi and Tetsuta Nagashima will also line up in Motegi, off the back of their second consecutive victory at this year’s Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Road Race.
MXGP’s multiple world champion Tim Gajser and Team HRC teammate Ruben Fernandez will demonstrate Honda’s eclectic offroad competition machinery alongside AMA SuperMotocross star brothers Hunter and Jett Lawrence, the latter claiming the AMA Pro championship 250 classification title this year. From the World Trial Championship, Gabriel Marcelli from Repsol Honda Team will also appear in Motegi.
On four wheels, Verstappen will star alongside fellow Oracle Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Perez, with Scuderia Alpha Tauri’s Daniel Ricciardo, Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson also on show. Away from Formula 1, IndyCar star Takuma Sato will feature, alongside several drivers from Japanese Super GT and Super Formula.
Fans will also see a demonstration from the highly competitive domestic Super GT series – a fitting farewell to the outgoing GT500-class NSX GT, before seeing its replacement, the all-new Civic Type R-GT, ahead of its competitive debut in the 2024 season.
All the action on Sunday 3 December will be available to watch on a live stream in both English and Japanese via the Honda Racing Global YouTube channel.
Overview of the event:
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Event: |
Honda Racing THANKS DAY 2023 |
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Date: |
3rd December 2023 (Sunday) |
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Time: |
8:00 – 16:30 (local time) |
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Venue: |
Mobility Resort Motegi, Tochigi, Japan |
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Itinerary: |
Demonstration runs and exhibits of racing machines, exhibits of Honda products, sales of Honda/Honda Racing merchandise, participatory activities, food booths |
Information about participating riders and drivers, program details and event schedules are available on the Honda Racing Thanks Day website.
– ENDS –
*1 (FIM World Championship Grand Prix)
*2 (FIA Formula One World Championship)