HONDA RACING AND UNIVERSAL STUDIOS CONSUMER PRODUCTS GROUP PROMOTE JURASSIC PARK III AT JULY RACES
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - June 20, 2001 Honda Racing Unleashes the Mighty T-Rex to Menace the Competition at Laguna Seca and Red Bud Torrance, Ca - Honda Racing and Universal Studios Consumer Products Group are teaming up this summer to promote Universal Pictures' and Amblin Entertainment's Jurassic Park III, the third installment in the studio's most successful film franchise ever, scheduled for release on July 18, 2001. Jurassic Park III, with its breathtaking dinosaur effects, will provide a suitably stunning backdrop for Honda Racing at two popular races in July. It should come as no surprise that Honda's race bikes and rider graphics will feature the voracious, Jurassic Park-inspired Tyrannosaurus Rex. Honda Racing's Supercross and motocross hero, Ezra Lusk, will be hunting down the competition on his silver and red CR250R on Sunday, July 1 at Round 6 of the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Motocross Championships at Red Bud Track-N-Trail in Buchanan, Michigan. Honda factory road racing star Nicky Hayden and his T-Rex emblazoned RC51 Superbike will be tearing up the field on Saturday, July 7 at Round 6 of the AMA/Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship at the Honda International Superbike Classic Presented By Dunlop at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California. In both races, Universal Studios takes the primary team sponsorship position on the race bikes with Jurassic Park III graphics. Following the highly successful collaboration with The Mummy Returns, the record-breaking sequel that jump-started the summer movie season earlier this May, this is the second of four similar promotions in 2001 and 2002. With each effort, Universal Studios' films will be showcased with special designs on the bodywork and uniform of a selected Honda motocross rider and road racing rider. "The Jurassic Park franchise and Honda Racing are a perfect fit. They both deliver non-stop action that keeps you on the edge of your seat," said Elliot Lederman, vice president of licensing/sports, Universal Studios Consumer Products Group. "We have been very successful with the top teams in NASCAR, Formula 1 and CART and it was natural to expand our motorsports program with Honda Racing," said Lederman. Universal Studios also represents the merchandising and promotional rights to the Honda Racing Team riders, including jointly developed designs, such as the Jurassic Park III Honda Racing promotion. Announced in November 2000, the sponsorship agreement also features Universal Studios' animated character Woody Woodpecker as Team Mascot for both the Honda Motocross Racing Team (r) and the Honda Road Racing Team (r). About the film Jurassic Park III continues the series that began with Jurassic Park and The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Joe Johnston (October Sky, Jumanjii), who first collaborated with Steven Spielberg on Raiders of the Lost Ark, directs. Kathleen Kennedy and Larry Franco are the producers and Spielberg is executive producer. The wizards at Industrial Light & Magic and Stan Winston once again combine forces to create the dazzling dinosaur effects. The strong cast includes Sam Neill, returning in the role of Dr. Alan Grant, which he originated in Jurassic Park, William H. Macy (Fargo), Tea Leoni (The Family Man), Alessandro Nivola (Love's Labour Lost), Michael Jeter (The Green Mile) and Trevor Morgan (The Patriot). Anxious to fund research for his new theory of velociraptor intelligence, renowned paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) is persuaded by a wealthy adventurer (William H. Macy) and his wife (Tea Leoni) to accompany them on an aerial tour of Isla Sorna. This infamous island, once InGen's site B, has become both a primordial breeding ground for John Hammond's magnificent creations and a magnet for thrill-seekers eager to encounter them. When a tragic accident maroons the party of seven, Grant discovers the true reason his deceptive hosts have invited him along. In their perilous attempt to escape with their lives, the dwindling group encounters terrifying new creatures undisclosed by InGen, and Grant is forced to learn the dreadful implications of his raptor intelligence theory firsthand. A note to parents: Jurassic Park III has been rated PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned - Some Material May Be Inappropriate For Children Under 13) for "intense sci-fi terror and violence." Consult www.filmratings.com for further information. Universal Studios Consumer Products Group is a unit of Universal Studios (www.universalstudios.com), a part of CANAL+, the TV and Film division of Vivendi Universal, a new global leader in media and communications. About Honda American Honda Motor Co. Inc. is the sole distributor of Honda motorcycles, ATVs and scooters in the United States. American Honda's Motorcycle Division conducts the sales, marketing and operational activities for these products through approximately 1200 Honda authorized dealers. Further information about Honda products, racing teams, programs and dealer locations is available at the Honda Web site at http://www.honda.com/. Race ticket information AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Motocross Championships at Red Bud Track-N-Trail in Buchanan, Michigan, visit: http://www.redbudmx.com/national.htm#Ticket Information AMA/Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship at the Honda International Superbike Classic Presented By Dunlop at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California, visit: http://www.laguna-seca.com/00wsb-tkt.htm ____________________________________________________________________________ Media Contacts: Peter terHorst Aaron Vescio American Honda, Motorcycle Division Universal Studios Consumer Products Group Tel: 310.781.6719 Tel: 818.777.4426 Peter_terhorst@ahm.honda.com aaron.vescio@unistudios.com # # # # # (See attached file: JPHonda Poster_LR.jpg)