The Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) has announced that its factory squad, Team HRC, will compete in the FIM E-Xplorer World Cup, an international electric all-terrain motorcycle racing series. The two-bike effort will deploy the CR Electric Proto, an all-electric motocross machine.

The Honda CR Electric Proto made its race debut in the penultimate round of the 2023 All Japan Motocross Championship. Ridden by Honda North America long-time rider in Supercross and Motocross Trey Canard, the bike ran as a wild card against conventional 450 cc IC engine machines.

As he got more comfortable on the machine over the weekend, Canard’s pace continued to improve to the extent that he ended up just 0.7 seconds off the fastest lap. He had been the second-fastest of all in practice and then took second place in race one, although two crashes – one while leading – spoiled the overall result.

That was the first time Honda fielded an in-house-developed electric motorcycle in an official race. The bike appears to be closely related to a CR-E badged electric motocross bike that Honda displayed at a show back in 2019.

That prototype used a motor developed by Honda offshoot Mugen. It built an electric motocross bike back in 2017, and raced its Mugen Shinden electric bike to success in the Isle of Man TT Zero. The electric prototype used the established CRF 250 motocross bike as its basis, fitting an electric motor, power controller and battery pack between the frame rails instead of a 250 cc single, and there was no clutch.

The FIM E-Xplorer World Cup, initiated in 2023, features electric off-road motorcycles with mixed-gender teams. Honda’s team will comprise Tosha Schareina from Spain, aged 28, a 2024 Dakar Rally participant, and Francesca Nocera from Italy, aged 30, an Italian WMX champion.

This season’s events will include a preliminary round for men and women, followed by three heats to determine the top three teams. The races will be held on special courses of both dirt and asphalt, with the rounds taking place in Japan, Norway, France, Switzerland and India.