American Honda Announces Participation in the 2010 Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix
American Honda had announced their participation in 2010 Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix. The Moto2 class will definitely be more interesting with the American wildcard entry. Here is the press release from American Honda↓
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Torrance, CA: American Honda Motor Co., Inc. announces today our participation in the 2010 Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix, August 27 to 29. For this event, American Honda was awarded a wild card entry for the Moto2 class. To mount this one-race endeavor, American Honda has joined forces in a combined effort with Moriwaki Engineering.
“American Honda views the Indy GP as an opportunity to support Moto2 in the U.S.,” said Ray Blank, Senior Vice President, American Honda Powersports Division. “We are very excited to be road racing again in America. This great new production-based world championship format is based on the Honda CBR600RR engine platform, so it’s a natural for our participation.”
The team will field a Honda-powered Moriwaki MD600. Moriwaki has been at the forefront of professional racing for 34 years, specializing in Honda-related products. Best known for its Honda V5-powered MD211VF MotoGP bike, which campaigned in 2004, the firm—in conjunction with American Honda—more recently released the MD250H, a 250cc four-stroke single-cylinder lightweight racer to support youth road racing in America. In Moto2, Moriwaki has already proven its engineering prowess, winning two Moto2 rounds with its MD600 in the hands of Gresini Racing’s Toni Elias. As a result, Elias leads the Moto2 rider standings and Moriwaki leads the constructor championship standings.
American Honda now announces that the team will be led by Kevin Schwantz.
Schwantz, the 1993 500cc Grand Prix World Champion, has a wealth of racing knowledge and currently runs the Schwantz School, where riders can learn from the best aboard Honda CBR600RR machines. “It’s an honor for me to be chosen as team manager,” said Schwantz. “We’ve been using CBR600RRs for some time now at our schools, and I’ve ridden a Moto2 bike and it’s very good. I watched the first three Moto2 races and I expect the racing to be just as good at Indy.”
Led by Schwantz, the team will field a Honda-powered Moriwaki MD600 ridden by wild card entry Roger Lee Hayden.
Roger Lee Hayden has a solid history with American Honda, and a string of 12 national road race victories on 600cc machines en route to a Supersport championship. Along with his siblings Nicky and Tommy, the Hayden brothers are American racing royalty, and the Indy GP will give American fans another opportunity to see Roger racing on American soil. At 27, Hayden also qualifies to race as a wild card entry: Moto2 rules require all wild card riders to be 28 years old or younger.
“This is a great opportunity for me to race in front of my home crowd at a MotoGP event,” said Roger, who is currently competing in the World Superbike Championship. “The Moto2 class is really competitive and I’m looking forward to jumping in the middle of it.”
The team will be staffed by Erion Racing technicians led by Kevin Erion. Erion Racing has been American Honda’s premier support team for more than 15 years, winning 16 national championships—many of them with Honda’s CBR600 in the process. “We’re excited to partner with American Honda again and participate in our first World-Championship event,” said Kevin Erion.
The American Honda Indy GP Moto2 team will also benefit the Ride for Kids® (RFK) program and the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation® (PBTF) through special fund-raising activities. At Indy, for example, Schwantz will lead the Lap of Champions, where 300 participants will join him in a lap around the track in a special fund-raiser that benefits the PBTF by raising funds to promote childhood brain tumor research.
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MotoGP related news: http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2010/Schwantz+Moto2+wildcard+Hayden+at+Indianapolis
