Honda Racing Corporation announced on Thursday that as part of its global activities program, it is launching Team G Cross Honda, a downhill mountain-bike team that will contest the world championships, NORBA series and selected World Cup races. HRC has entered into a multi-year contract with Spanish based sports management company 23 Degrees to manage the team, which will include reigning world downhill champion Greg Minnaar and young French rider Cyrille Kurtz, who was third in the junior downhill race at world’s. The team will also have two mechanics, a soigneur and a team director. The director’s role will be filled by former Global Racing boss Martin Whiteley, who is also the owner and president of 23 Degrees.

“I see Honda’s entry into downhill racing as an important step for our sport and I’m thrilled to be part of it,” said Minnaar in a press release issued by 23 Degrees. “We’ll be focusing on the NORBA series this year as I’d like to defend that [overall downhill] title, and of course I’ll race World Cup events and the worlds. I won’t be racing four-cross this year. Honda doesn’t have a four-cross bike developed and I knew this before signing. I’ve decided to focus on downhill this season, as the reigning world champion. It’s often hard doing both due to schedules at triple races, and I really want to do the best I can for Honda in downhill.”

Co-sponsors for the team will not released. The first event for the full team will be the first NORBA at Big Bear Lake, California on May 22 and 23.

“We are really excited and honored to be asked by HRC to run this team,” said Whiteley. “The world team is considered a satellite team of HRC, and they have given us the freedom to create the best possible program over the coming years, and we are very keen to work in close partnership with HRC to make this venture by Honda into our sport as successful as possible for all parties.”

Last year Honda entered mountain bike downhill races for the first time in its history, and gained a victory in JCF Japan Series. This year, through the creation of the world team, Honda will extend its activities to the international arena, with both Minnaar and Kurtz racing the Honda RN01 bikes.

According to the press release, the primary purpose of the team is to make use of developing technologies, which have grown through the development of off-road motorcycles. Honda believes that downhill racing puts much more load on vehicles than other forms of competition. This will then assist Honda by providing feedback on the technologies used in the downhill races to bring back to their motorcycles.

Honda will also continue with the Japanese based mountain-bike development team of Naoki Idegawa (formerly of Global Racing), who won the fourth round of the JCF Japan Series last year, and Tadashi Takahashi.