～Honda Announces Plans for 2017 Motorcycle Motorsports Activities at EICMA 2016～
On November 7, 2016 (local time), Honda announced plans for its participation in motorcycle motorsports world championship racing activities for the 2017 season, at EICMA 2016 in Milan, Italy. On stage, Honda introduced the riders to compete for its factory team “Monster Energy Honda Team” in the 2017 Dakar series.
EICMA 2016
Monster Energy Honda Team will compete with 2017 CRF450 RALLY factory machines updated through last season's experiences, ridden by Joan Barreda (Spain), Paulo Goncalves (Portugal), Michael Metge (France) and Kevin Benavides (Argentina) joining from Honda South America Rally Team.
The Dakar Rally has been staged in South America since 2009. The 2017 edition of the Dakar Rally consists of 12 stages, and is set to start on January 2, 2017 in Asuncion, Paraguay. Spanning 13 days across Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay, the race concludes back in the Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Honda’s Motorsports website will be featuring video reports and articles throughout the Dakar Rally.