Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Reports that a Honda V6-powered MotoGP prototype was tested recently at Motegi are not true, according to Suguru Kanazawa, President of Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) and Senior Managing Director of Honda R&D Co., Ltd.

The report, labeled as being issued by Honda, appeared in the fan forum section of one MotoGP rider’s website and quickly spread across the Internet via other fan forums.

The report in question claimed that Shin’ichi Itoh tested the next-generation, V6-powered Honda racer, the “RC214V,” at Motegi. The detailed report claimed that Itoh, riding on Bridgestones, went one second faster than the 2002 MotoGP pole time.

“The article that you mention isn’t true,” Kanazawa responded to Roadracingworld.com in an August 25 e-mail. “We at HRC don’t have any 6cyl. MotoGP machine at the moment.”