Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India to enter off-road racing

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India is finally entering off-road racing in India. After spending several years in circuit racing programmes across the country and even abroad supporting Indian riders, the company is finally stepping into off-road racing. The move is said to be a result of the Indians’ growing interest in off-road racing in the past few years, and could see the Honda name appear in endurance, motocross, and rally racing.

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India’s racing history

For several years now, the brand has been an active part of circuit racing in India. Mainly, the brand is seen in the Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship (INMRC), running its own one-make championship which uses NSF250R Moto3-spec machines. Excelling in the national races also means that these riders have a chance to compete in international programmes like the Honda Asia Dream Cup, Thailand Talent Cup, and the Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC). 

Honda’s participation in global off-road championships

Globally, the brand is a well-known figure in off-road championships with a roster of world-class riders. Notably, the brand competes in the Dakar Rally, the FIM X-Trial World Championship, the FIM Motocross World Championship, and even the FIM E-Xplorer World Cup.

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India's entry into off-road racing

Though it’s not yet clear which formats Honda will enter, we can see it competing in the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC), which has separate classes for supercross and scooters. TVS Racing has been a part of this for quite some time now, and it will be interesting to see Honda take on TVS. What we absolutely know is that this move will open up opportunities for more Indians to participate, which will further help the team expand into more formats.

Impacts on the two-wheeler lineup in India

The entry into off-road racing would also result in us seeing more off-road-focused products in the Indian lineup – backed by a growing interest in off-road riding. The current India lineup includes the NX500 and the XL750 Transalp. If more off-road-focused products are confirmed for India, we could see the CRF series and even the Africa Twin return to India.

All in all, this is a great move by Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, and would only add to the growing interest in off-road racing and riding. What remains to be seen is when and how many formats Honda enters.