From a press release issued by Honda UK:

Honda Racing announces 2004 line-up

After months of speculation, Honda Racing has announced an impressive line-up for its assault on the 2004 British Superbike Championship. The world’s leading motorcycle manufacturer also revealed its partnership with a new title sponsor, HM Plant, the UK’s official distributor of Hitachi Construction Equipment.

With the signing of Michael Rutter and Ryuichi Kiyonari, the HM Plant Honda Racing team will enter two new riders on the factory CBR1000RR Fireblade. Thirty-year-old Rutter from Market Bosworth in Leicestershire is already one of the stars of the championship. After finishing the past two seasons second and third in the series Rutter will be hoping to go one better on Honda’s latest four-cylinder Superbike.

Twenty-one-year-old Kiyonari will be a rookie in the British Superbike Championship. But, with invaluable experience racing in his native Japan and the MotoGP World Championship, Kiyonari is expected to make a huge impact on the world’s leading domestic Superbike series. Honda’s ex-MotoGP and World Superbike rider Tady Okada, who will be supervising the new CBR1000RR project with full Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) support, will join him.

HM Plant Honda Racing has also contracted British Supersport Champion Karl Harris to defend his title on the all-conquering CBR600RR. The services of the talented 24-year-old Yorkshireman have been retained following a superb 2003 season when he won the ultra-competitive, 12-round series by the comfortable margin of 43 points.

Honda Racing also confirmed that Red Bull would extend its partnership with the manufacturer to become principle sponsor of the team – this is in addition to the Red Bull Rookies Honda youth development programme, which was announced before Christmas.

Honda Racing and Red Bull have already joined forces to develop the latent talent of young British motorcycle racers to become the stars of tomorrow. Eugene Laverty (17) and Steven Neate (16) have been selected to compete in the British 125cc Championship with Jonathan Rea (16) ascending to the Supersport category.

HM Plant Honda Racing and Red Bull Rookies Honda will be based at Honda Racing’s headquarters at Louth in Lincolnshire. Each team will embark on a full pre-season test schedule to prepare for their forthcoming championship challenges before the first round at Silverstone on 28 March.







Neil Tuxworth, Race Team Manager, Honda Racing: “Honda Racing is delighted to welcome HM Plant and Red Bull as three-year partners of the team. We are all looking forward to embarking on one of the most exciting projects ever undertaken in the sport – the development of the new CBR1000RR, the defence of the Supersport title and the possible development of future British and World Champions.”

John Jones, Chairman, HM Plant: “HM Plant has made a strategic decision to support Honda Racing in the British Superbike Championship. The performance, reliability and technology inherent with Hitachi’s range of construction equipment are replicated by the underlying values of motorsport. We are also looking forward to exploring our business relationship with Honda UK, promoting HM Plant to a wider audience and further developing customer relationships across our ten regional depots in tandem with the British Superbike calendar.”


Linda Pelham, Motorsports Manager, Red Bull: “The whole ethos of the Red Bull brand is behind nurturing young talent and projecting their natural abilities onto a higher level. The new team and partnership with Honda Racing is without doubt the best hope that we have for the future development of young British motorcycle racers. The levels of technical and promotional support will hopefully ensure that being a member of the team becomes a top priority for the stars of tomorrow and gives them an excellent opportunity to fulfil their dreams. ”