2015 name | JIR Racing Team |
---|---|
Base | Monte Carlo, Monaco |
Principal | Gianluca Montiron |
Rider(s) | 4. Randy Krummenacher |
Motorcycle | Kalex |
Tyres | Dunlop |
Japan Italy Racing, more commonly known as JiR, is a Monte Carlo based motorcycle racing team which competed in the MotoGP series from 2005 to 2008 and from 2010 to 2015 in the Moto2 class.
The team was founded by Gianluca Montiron together with Honda Motor Europe founder Tetsuo Iida. Since the team's founding, Montiron has diversified the investments keeping the Head Office as the team's central core, although all its activities are independent. The Monaco-based company develops commercial and sport interests, including marketing and communication initiatives – such as the brand's internationalisation. Motorsport, real estate investments and corporate social responsibility (CSR) are the services provided by JiR's different companies.
JiR Italy S.r.l. was founded in 2009 in Castelletto di Branduzzo, Italy, some 45 km (28 mi) south of Milan. The Italian facility is well equipped for promotional activities and is located near to the Motodromo circuit, the 7 Laghi go kart and jet ski tracks.
SCI JiR is a real estate company that has the property of the team's facilities in Castelletto di Branduzzo and in the French Riviera.
The team first entered the MotoGP World Championship in 2005 as Konica Minolta Honda, a single motorcycle team using the Honda RC211V with Japanese rider Makoto Tamada and Michelin as tyre supplier. A 3rd-place finish at the Japanese Grand Prix was the team's best result. The team used the same package for the 2006 season, but was unable to repeat the 2005 results finishing twelfth in the championship, with a best result of fifth at the Portuguese Grand Prix. In 2007, Shinya Nakano replaced Tamada as the rider of the new 800cc Honda RC212V. The motorcycle did not achieve the results expected finishing in seventeenth position.