Shinichi Ito and Kousuke Akiyoshi to race in Motegi with Honda RC212V

Honda Racing Corporation is pleased to announce that for the very first time in history there will be eight Honda riders racing in the MotoGP 4-stroke class at the Twin Ring Motegi on 2nd October.

In addition to the riders participating in every Championship round (Repsol Honda Team: Dani Pedrosa, Andrea Dovizioso and Casey Stoner, San Carlo Gresini Team: Marco Simoncelli and Hiroshi Aoyama, LCR Team: Toni Elias), HRC test riders Shinichi Ito and Kousuke Akiyoshi will also join the Motegi race in Japan for round 15 of the MotoGP World Championship.

Ito will ride as a wild card entry on an HRC Team, while Akiyoshi will ride alongside Toni Elias for LCR. With their participation in the Japanese Grand Prix, HRC hope to bring courage and show support for the East Japan area.

Honda Racing Corporation press release.