Honda’s Efforts in Developing Motorsport Activities

In line with the overall development direction of the sports racing industry, particularly with the goal of fostering a healthy and professional motorbike sports culture in Vietnam, Honda Vietnam (HVN) has been continuously and earnestly investing. Since sponsoring domestic motorcycle racing competitions in 2015, HVN has been bringing even more joy to its customers, gradually making this high-speed sport more accessible to the people of Vietnam and putting Vietnam on the international racing map.

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HVN started sponsoring a series of motorcycle racing events in many provinces across the country since 2015. This activity not only brings joy and excitement to customers through thrilling challenges but also contributes to promoting the sports bike segment in Vietnam. In 2018, with high expectations and determination to comprehensively professionalize the sport of motorcycle racing in Vietnam, timely discovery and training of potential racers to represent Vietnam in international competitions, as well as create a competitive playground with clear rankings for racers to demonstrate their tactics and talents, HVN officially sponsored the Vietnam Motorcycle Racing Championship (VMRC).

The Vietnam Motor Racing Championship (VMRC) is a season-based racing series where riders compete in point-based stages at large-scale and professional racing tracks such as 2K Circuit (Binh Duong) and Dai Nam Circuit (Binh Duong). Up to the present time, VMRC is known as the most professional motorcycle racing championship in Vietnam with 3 consecutive seasons, contributing to the increasingly healthy and professional development of the sport of motorcycle racing in Vietnam.

Honda và những nỗ lực phát triển hoạt động đua xe thể thao honda-racing.jpegVietnam Talent Cup – using the sportbike model NSF100 for racers from 15-17 years old

Since its inception, VMRC has been increasingly attractive, affirming its high professional quality and organization. Especially in the 2020 season, with the addition of the Vietnam Talent Cup category – using the sportbike model NSF100 for racers from 15-17 years old, VMRC officially opens up opportunities for young racers aged 15 and above to compete, thereby contributing to the early search and training of young racers to further develop their international racing careers.

Honda và những nỗ lực phát triển hoạt động đua xe thể thao honda-racing.jpgTwo young racers, Nguyen Ton Anh Phu (champion of the Vietnam Talent Cup category) and Nguyen Tran Duc Tai have been selected by the organizers of the Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup (IATC) to participate in the rider selection round for the 2022 season.

As expected, matured and discovered in the Vietnam Talent Cup category, VMRC 2020, the two young racers, Nguyen Ton Anh Phu (champion of the Vietnam Talent Cup category) and Nguyen Tran Duc Tai, have been selected by the organizers of the Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup (IATC) to participate in the rider selection round for the 2022 season. Organized by Dorna Sport (the organizer of MotoGP), IATC is a racing series exclusively for young and talented Asian riders, serving as a stepping stone for riders to compete in the Moto3, Moto2, and MotoGP categories of the prestigious MotoGP championship. Therefore, it can be said that being selected for the rider selection round of the 2022 IATC season is a significant milestone for Vietnamese racers.

Honda và những nỗ lực phát triển hoạt động đua xe thể thao iatc.jpegIATC is a platform for riders to compete in MotoGP.

Starting from the VMRC platform, with the main support from HVN, the two racers, Anh Phu and Duc Tai, have officially expanded their horizons to the international racing arena, surpassing more than 400 profiles to be among the top 100 young racers in Asia who are considered for selection. The initial selection schedule was scheduled to take place in late October at the Sepang Circuit, Malaysia. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic situation, the selection schedule has been officially canceled, and the organizers will select riders based on their registration profiles with the results announced at the end of November 2021.

Not only Anh Phu and Duc Tai, but many other Vietnamese riders such as Nguyen Duc Thanh, Nguyen Vu Thanh, Nguyen Anh Tuan, Le Khanh Loc, etc., have also grown up from domestic races and participated in international competitions. Through the annually organized racing series with increasing investment and special emphasis on pioneering the sponsorship and organization of VMRC, HVN hopes to make the sport of motorcycle racing more accessible to the Vietnamese people and nurture the dream of developing Vietnamese motorcycle racing on the international stage.

Anh Quan (forum.autodaily.vn)