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Honda Race Results:The Winningest Team in History
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American Honda won its first National motocross title in 1973 when Gary Jones rode Honda's first production motocrosser, the 250 Elsinore, to victory. The team followed that with two more titles the following year, with Marty Smith also taking the 125 National crown on Honda's new 125 Elsinore. Since 1982, American Honda has won a record 40 AMA National championships out of a possible 65. Honda riders have won an incredible 13 of the last 17 AMA 250 Supercross championships, including winning the Supercross title for nine years in a row.
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Honda Road Racing: The Sport
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AMA Superbike racing is the most prestigious class of motorcycle road racing in the United States.Honda has competed in the Superbike class since 1980.With the introduction of the firm's V-4-powered 750s,Honda became a dominant force in American Superbike, winning 45 percent of all the Superbike races since 1983, and 38 percent of the titles,including the 1998 AMA Superbike championship with the RC�45.Honda also owns the AMA records for most Superbike wins in a season and the most consecutive Superbike championships.Rules allow production-based, 750cc four-stroke motorcycles and twin-cylinder bikes within 105 percent of their original displacement (not to exceed 1000cc),both in highly modified form. The status of the class guarantees participation by some of the world's best riders, as they push themselves and their powerful machines to the utmost.Superbike racing might offer manufacturers high-profile race wins, but the Pro Honda HP4 600 SuperSport class is the racing category that can boost a manufacturer's sales. Middleweight sport bikes are typically a firm's best-selling model,so the class is hotly contested.Another reason for such close competition is the near-equal performance of the machinery,a condition created by more restrictive rules than in the Superbike class. Performance parity also emphasizes rider talent and the capabilities of standard machines like few other classes.Class entrants consist exclusively of lightly modified production-based four-stroke four-cylinder 600cc machines.With sales hanging in the balance, each manufacturer fields its strongest riders, joined by grassroots privateers looking to make a name for themselves. That, plus the machines' similar performance, makes for some of the closest racing in any motor sport, often with 10 to 15 riders clawing for the lead. All four major Japanese motorcycle manufacturers field teams in both Superbike and 600 SuperSport, with most riders competing in both classes. As in Superbike, Honda has simply dominated, winning 54 percent of all 600 SuperSport races and taking six of the 12 championships.Team Honda rider Miguel Duhamel has won four of those six titles.
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