The 2009 Isle of Man TT marks the 50th anniversary of Honda's involvement in racing, and this new book celebrates the full and amazing story of the Japanese company's TT heritage.

The legend started when Soichiro Honda set his company the ambitious target of winning the world's most famous motorcycle race - the TT. Victory in the Isle of Man was the foundation of an amazing success story in international motorsport.

The story started when Honda team travelled 6,000 miles from Japan to the Isle of Man for the 1959 Tourist Trophy motorcycle races. When Honda secured the 125cc manufacturer’s team award on its debut the mockers were silenced and wins in two 1961 TT races proved that the Japanese factory had become a major force in motorcycling.

During the following six years, Honda’s boldly innovative four-stroke machinery notched up victories in every solo TT race on the punishing 37.73-mile Mountain Course. 

After a period away from the TT Honda returned to the regenerated races, where its UK-based team supported the event more consistently than any other maker and set the pace for them to match. 

Many of the greatest TT riders have been Honda-powered including Mike Hailwood, Jim Redman, Steve Hislop and John McGuinness who was first to reach 130mph and of course the King of the Mountain himself Joey Dunlop, who was the winner of 24 TT races for Honda.