Honda Motorcycles reign supreme in local and international races

MANILA: Honda Philippines, Inc., (HPI) presents industry-leading excellence in design as well as performance. HPI engineers quality rides by tapping on its proud racing DNA, which was on full display again last month with a string of wins in local and international competitions.

The victories came one after the other in August 2022, adding to Honda Racing’s rich engineering heritage and serving as a testament to its unwavering pursuit of excellence. Honda’s prestigious CRF and CBR models starred in the various races.

Taking the global off-road circuit by storm were the CRF450R and CRF250R. On August 14, Tim Gasjer of Team Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) was crowned 2022 World Champion in the MXGP Round 16 in Finland. He clinched the title with two races still remaining, riding the Honda CRF450R.

The win was followed by the impressive performances of Chase Sexton, Jett Lawrence, and Hunter Lawrence in the AMA MX Round 11 at Ironman National, USA on August 27. Sexton won the 450 Class with the CRF450R, while Jett topped the 250 Class and Hunter placed 3rd with the Honda CRF250R.

Honda Racing likewise found great success in international on-road races. In a grand showcase of unyielding determination and top-class design, Team HRC came away as champions at the Suzuka Eight-Hour Endurance Race in Suzuka, Japan last August 7. Their win came on the strength of the powerful Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade.

On the Moto 2 front, Japan’s Ai Ogura and Thailand’s Somkiat Chantra of Honda Team Asia took the top two positions in the Austrian GP last August 21. They rode the Kalex Moto2 four-stroke race motorcycle equipped with a Honda engine.

The winning ways continued back home as well. Alfonsi Daquigan added to his rapidly-growing resumé in the National Motorcycle Racing Championship (MoRAC) Super Sport 155 Class at the Batangas Racing Circuit on August 7. The 12-year-old Filipino racing wunderkind took second place riding the Honda CBR150R.

Finally, Jakob Sablaya dominated the MotoIR event at the Tarlac Circuit Hill on August 21. Sablaya commanded the competition in the Super Underbone Sealed and Super Underbone Open categories with the Honda Supra GTR150. He also scored a second-place finish at MotoIR2 with the CBR150R.

Sablaya first honed his riding skills at the Honda Pilipinas Dream Cup (HPDC) in 2018. The HPDC discovers young riders and gives them the proper training for professional racing for both local and international levels.

The young racer rides a CBR150R street motorbike and Supra GTR150 underbone for all his races. Sablaya likes the smooth performance of GTR150, while praising the CBR150's speed and handling advantage brought by its slipper clutch and sport shocks.

Honda traces its long and proud history in motorsports from joining the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy Race in 1959, an annual motorcycle racing event considered the sport’s biggest. Since then, Honda has been consistently winning trophies here and abroad.

This year, Honda Philippines, Inc. rode north of Metro Manila to share the joy of mobility in its latest flagship store in Caloocan.

The new flagship store aimed to offer the complete lineup of Honda motorcycles, power products, and genuine spare parts. Among the products Honda Caloocan motorcycle flagship store will offer are Honda sports models and big bikes. These will include three newly launched models such as the Honda CB150X, CB500F, and CBR650R.

Photos from Honda Philippines Inc., Honda Racing Corporation

Also read: Honda Trail Ride 2022 explores Negros Oriental with CRF150L, CRF300L dirt bikes