The Konica Minolta Honda team is the newest kid on the block when it comes to MotoGP. After the 2004 season, the team came out with a single rider, Makoto Tamada for 2005. The team was originally named as Italy Japan Racing but in 2005, it contested as the Konica Minolta Honda team.

Lucas Montirion, the managing director of the team, held a similar role at the Pramac team, which sponsored a Bridgestone fitted Honda to Makoto Tamada in 2004. The president of Honda Europe NV, Tetsuo Iida is now the president of this newly formed team. The team ran a Honda RC211V bike with Michelin tyres and is another satellite team for the massive Honda organization.