Image: Simon Cudby.

Team Honda HRC’s Trey Canard and Gariboldi Honda’s new MX2 World Champion Tim Gajser will compete in the final round of the All Japan Motocross Championship series, to be held at Sportsland Sugo on 25 October.

Canard will race in the IA1 (450) class alongside HRC factory series regular and 10-time Japanese national champion Akira Narita. While in Japan, he will join Honda Racing Corporation engineers for a test in Tochigi prior to the race.

“I’m extremely excited for this opportunity to race in Japan,” Canard said. “I’ve raced in Europe before but never there, so it will definitely be a different experience. I’m looking forward to the actual race but more than anything I’m really excited to meet the people that make my job possible. They have supported me throughout my entire professional racing career, so to be able to visit and show my gratitude will be very special.”

HRC Representative Director Keisuke Inomoto is looking forward to hosting Canard: “I’m really glad that we have Trey Canard racing in Japan for the first time at Sugo,” he said. “We’re hoping he can show the young Japanese riders how the AMA riders ride and that they can learn from him in order to bring Japanese motocross to a higher level again.

It’s also a special moment for Gajser, who claimed his first MX2 World Championship when the title went down to the wire at Glen Helen’s final round last weekend.

“I am very happy to be able to compete in the All Japan Motocross Championship. I could not participate because of injury last year, Japan is also the home of Honda, so that is important for me and the team. We aim to win at everything.”

The IA1 class is currently led by Suzuki’s Yoshitaka Atsuta with two rounds remaining, while reigning number one plate holder Narita holds down fourth on his Honda CRF450RW.