Racing
The Dream: Compete. Learn. And Win.
"I am filled with abundant, unshakable confidence that I can win. The fighting spirit that is my nature will no longer allow me to continue turning away. I announce my determination, and pledge with you that I will put my entire heart and soul, and turn all my creativity and skills to the task of entering the TT Races and winning them."
--Soichiro Honda, in 1954, declaring Honda's participation in the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy (TT) Races, at that time the most prestigious motorcycle race in the world.
Soichiro Honda had raced as a young man and even set a speed record in Japan. But he had more than just a love of speed; he knew that the race track was the perfect training ground for engineers. Mr. Honda knew that high-pressure environments create ideal opportunities that challenge engineers to find innovative and immediate solutions to problems they'd never imagined.
So, even though his company had never raced before, he challenged his engineers by declaring that Honda would win the world's most challenging motorcycle race against companies from throughout Europe that had been racing for years. The fact that Honda would indeed go on to win the TT race - sweeping every single class in 1961 - was not only a point of pride. It taught us a lesson about the importance of taking on new challenges - something we have been doing ever since.
But, for Honda, racing is not only about winning on the track. Mr. Honda loved something else about the racing. He loved the collaborative nature of the sport. He discovered early on that racing teaches teamwork. No single individual can win a race. And it's this spirit of teamwork that you'll find throughout our entire company.
Throughout our existence, on both two wheels and four, we've raced-and won-at the highest levels. We race everything from Indy Cars and Formula One racecars to dirt bikes to Xtreme Gravity cars. Of course, we want to win - we have a saying that second place is the 'first loser.'
But, for Honda, racing is really about challenging and learning with a can-do spirit. So, you'll also be excited to know that the engineers who learn about technology and the importance of making improvements through racing generally return to our product development teams to develop new technologies for the products you can drive and enjoy.