Spencer proud to be part of Honda heritage

The Polini Grand Prix of Japan was a big occasion for Honda, the company celebrating their 50th anniversary of Grand Prix participation in 2009. MotoGP Legend Freddie Spencer was on track before Sunday’s racing to help mark the event and found time to catch up with motogp.com after a brief demonstration ride on his old NS500.

日本站對Honda 是個盛大的慶典，今年將會慶祝GP參賽滿50周年。GP傳奇車手Freddie Spencer 也會在周日前出現在賽道上參與這個活動，會在簡短的跨上NS500賽車展示之後接受motogp.com訪問。

Spencer was joined by fellow former Honda World Championship riders Naomi Taniguchi (who rode for Honda in 1959) and Kunimitsu Takahashi (the first Japanese Honda GP winner, in 1961 in the 250cc class) on track, showing off their bikes to a delighted Motegi crowd.

Freddie Spencer 會和其他騎乘Honda的世界錦標賽車手一起參加活動，在Motegi 觀眾前展示他們的戰駒，其他車手是Naomi Taniguchi (1959年騎乘Honda 賽車)和Kunimitsu Takahashi (在1961年 250CC等級，得到 Honda 的第一個日本站冠軍)。

Having declared his “Isle of Man TT race challenge” to his employees in 1954, Soichiro Honda saw his dream become a reality as the firm first competed in a GP under the management of Kiyoshi Kawashima at the challenging British race meeting in 1959.

參加"曼島TT大賽"在1954年得到冠軍，1959年由 Kiyoshi Kawashima 為車隊總管參加英國站，在這第一場GP大賽，本田宗一郎看到他的夢想轉化為真實。

In 1983, Spencer won Honda’s first world 500cc riders’ and constructors’ titles since the company’s return to GP racing after withdrawing briefly in the late 1960s, riding the NS500. The American went on to win the 1985 championship with seven victories from 11 races, again with Honda.

196年代晚期短暫退出GP後，在1983年 Spencer 騎乘NS500為 Honda 贏得第一個 GP500 車手和車隊冠軍，這位美國車手在1985年繼續騎乘Honda 賽車在11場比賽拿下7個冠軍，再度得到世界冠軍。

Asked for his thoughts on the 1959-2009 Honda anniversary, Spencer commented, “To be a part of it is incredible and Mr Honda’s dream was to race at the Isle of Man TT and to compete in the World Championship when he started in his garage. To ride out there with Takahashi and Taniguchi and to have won Honda’s first 500cc title is a special and humbling experience, so I feel very fortunate.”

對於Honda 1959 -2009參賽50年的周年的看法，Spencer 表示"身為其中的一份子真是令人難以置信，並且本田宗一郎先生的創立公司時的夢想就是參加曼島TT大賽和參加世界錦標賽的競爭行列。一起和 Takahashi 和 Taniguchi 度過那段時間並贏得Honda 第一個500CC冠軍是非常特別和謙虛的經驗，我感到非常幸運"。

Giving his view on the current factory Honda presence in MotoGP Spencer added, “Dani (Pedrosa) has shown that he can win races but unfortunately he has been injured recently and with the young rider Andrea (Dovizioso) stepping up this year I think he is showing he has the speed. The confidence and the communication of the team, the riders and HRC is getting better and that is how you improve the equipment and improve your performance.”

對於現在 Honda 在MotoGP 的廠隊的車手的看法，Spencer 補充說 "Dani 已經展現了他是可以贏得比賽的能力，可惜的是他最近一直為傷所擾。另一位年輕車手 Andrea 今年升上廠隊，我想他正在展現他是有速度的。從車隊的信心和訊息來看，車手和HRC正在進步，這就是你如何改進車子和增加競爭力"。