It was the start of growing involvement with the Manx races, reflecting Soichiro Honda's belief that the TT represented the pinnacle of motorcycle racing achievement.
In 2009 the company celebrated 50 years of World championship racing at the TT, throwing its weight behind John McGuinness in his attempt to take second place in the list of all-time TT winners behind the late Joey Dunlop and Ian Hutchinson's efforts in the Supersport TT on a CBR600RR