Jaume Masia took Honda’s 800th GP victory in Aragon
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Jaume Masia’s win in the Moto3 race at the Teruel Grand Prix in Aragon was Honda’s 800th in the Grand Prix.
The Leopard Racing driver drove the NSF250RW machine to two wins on the Spanish circuit – a week after becoming Honda’s 100th race winner. Achieve 800 GP victories* * is a great achievement for Honda that no other manufacturer could match.
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Honda’s first win came in the 1961 125cc Spanish Grand Prix. Australian Tom Phillis took victory on his RC143. The first win came just a year after Honda entered the 125cc and 250cc classes and two years after Honda became the first Japanese motorcycle manufacturer to enter the Isle of Man TT. Founder Soichiro Honda had declared his intention to compete there in 1954.
Kunimitsu Takahashi clinched Honda’s first 250cc victory on the RC162 in Germany in 1961 at Hockenheim. At the same time, Takahashi was the first Japanese driver to win a GP. Honda would soon add the 350 and 50 classes to its racing program. In 1966, Honda’s motorcycles won the 50, 125, 250, 350 and 500 cc manufacturers’ titles.
In six decades of GP racing, Honda riders have won more than 60 drivers ‘world championships and the manufacturer has won more than 70 constructors’ world championships.
“I’m proud of Honda’s 800th FIM World Championship Grand Prix victory,” said Takahiro Hachigo – President, CEO and Representative of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. Support for Honda’s racing activities.
“I would also like to thank everyone before us for their passion and dedication to overcoming the myriad of problems and leading us from 1959 to the present day. Honda sees this moment as a waypoint and will continue to fight for victory. We look I look forward to Your further support. “
Honda stopped its factory racing activities in 1967 to focus on developing racing bikes. They would return to GP racing in 1979 and four years later win the 500cc title with Freddie Spencer on the NS500 (Honda’s first two-stroke GP bike).
In 1984 Honda launched the NSR500, which, with more than 130 races and 21 rider and constructor titles with Wayne Gardner, Eddie Lawson and Mick Doohan, would become the most successful premier-class motorcycle in history.
Honda continued to compete in the 125, 250, and 500 classes in the years that followed, with Valentino Rossi claiming Honda’s 500th victory at the 2001 Japanese GP.
Since 1995, the premier factory team – Repsol Honda – has secured 15 drivers’ titles, some of which are the biggest names in the sport – Mick Doohan (4), Alex Criville (1), Valentino Rossi (2), Nick Hayden (1), Casey Stoner (1) and Marc Marquez (6). The Repsol-Honda partnership has recorded a total of 180 wins and 447 podiums in 500cc and MotoGP.
With the introduction of the Moto3 class in 2012, Honda built its first Four-stroke 250cc GP GP since the six-cylinder RC166 of the 1960s. Honda has won four of the last five designer awards in the lightweight class, with over 100 race wins.
Here are the key milestones for Honda:
- Honda’s 1st Grand Prix victory – Tom Phillis, 1961 Spanish 125cc GP, Honda RC143
- Honda’s 100th Grand Prix Victory – Luigi Taveri, 1966 Dutch 50cc TT, Honda RC116
- Honda’s 200th Grand Prix Victory – Jimmy Filice, 1988 US 250cc GP, Honda NSR250
- Honda’s 300th Grand Prix Victory – Alex Criville, 1992 Dutch 500cc TT, Honda NSR500
- Honda’s 400th Grand Prix Victory –Haruchika Aoki, 1996 Brazilian 125cc GP, Honda RS125R
- Honda’s 500th Grand Prix Victory – Valentino Rossi, 2001 Japanese 500cc GP, Honda NSR500
- Honda’s 600th Grand Prix Victory – Dani Pedrosa, 2005 Australian 250cc GP, Honda R250RW
- Honda’s 700th Grand Prix Victory – Marc Marquez, Indianapolis MotoGP 2015, Honda RC213V
- Honda’s 800th Grand Prix Victory – Jaume Masia, 2020 Teruel Moto3, Honda NSF250RW
* Excludes number of wins counted by Honda based on FIM records Moto2 class wins. Moto3 class wins in 2012 are not included as Honda wins under FIM regulations as the registered constructor was FTR Honda (powered by the NSF250R engine).