Casio in Formula 1 and MotoGP - Grand Prix Watches

Casio Computer Co., Ltd. was founded in April of 1946 as Kashio Seisakujo by fabrication technology engineer Tadao Kashio. The Japanese company initially enjoyed early success with a cigarette-holding finger ring called the yubiwa pipe. The profits from this obscure non-electronic device allowed the Kashio brothers to develop calculators, and the Casio name first came into use in 1957. The brand’s first watch, the digital CASIOTRON, was released 17 years later in 1974.

First Appearances in Formula 1: Honda

By the 1980s, Casio had made multiple appearances in Formula 1. Early watches of note include the “Honda Racing Williams” F-90, “Honda Racing Team F1″ F-85, and “Honda Racing Team F1” F-87. While release dates are not well documented, they likely followed in the wake of Honda’s Formula 1 return in 1983.

Also introduced in 1983 and now a strong brand in its own right, the G-Shock line was immediately folded into the Formula 1 world with the DW-5000C-Honda. The defunct gsking.net website has cited this watch as being issued to Honda engineers who developed the engine run by Spirit Racing in the 1983 Formula 1 season.

The DW-5200C-Honda was released in the following year.

Rothmans Honda: 500cc Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing?

Also likely stemming from the early to mid-1980s was the Casio F-86 Rothmans Honda, which appeared to be available in either a black or white case.

Due to the non-existence of a Rothmans/Honda pairing in Formula 1, this particular F-86 may have been associated with the factory Rothmans Honda 500cc Grand Prix motorcycle racing team, which was launched in 1985. Further details are not well documented.

G-Shock and Williams F1

Casio released the G-Shock DW-6600-Williams in 1997, which happened to coincide with the end of the Adrian Newey era of the Williams F1 team and back to back drivers and constructors championships.

Max Biaggi, Valentino Rossi, and Marco Melandri

At some point during the 1990s, former 500cc/MotoGP riders Max Biaggi, Valentino Rossi, and Marco Melandri have individually made appearances in G-Shock ads during their time in support classes. There appears to have been no licensed or rider edition models made with the riders, and specific details of the partnerships are not well documented.

G-Shock in MotoGP: Shinya Nakano, Kawasaki, and Suzuki

Shinya Nakano has collaborated with G-Shock on at least one release in either 2001 or 2002. The Japanese rider’s 56 logo appears on the strap of the G-Shock G-100 Shinya Nakano edition, with a Mercari listing suggesting that the packaging included a card featuring a photo of Nakano on a 2001 Gauloises Tech 3 YZR500.

G-Shock also appeared on the MotoGP grid in 2005 as a sponsor of the Kawasaki Racing team, which was accompanied with the release of the G-300KRT-1AV and G-300KRT-3AV models. The all digital G-7710KRT-3 was later released in 2007. The G-Shock logo continued to feature on the Ninja ZX-RR MotoGP challenger until 2008.

Nakano, who was a factory rider for Kawasaki during this time, has also appeared on G-Shock product packaging and promotional materials during this time, including a print ad for the G-Shock G-056 series.

Randy de Puniet’s 2007 Kawasaki ZX-RR. (Photo: by PekePON, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Casio also released the G-Shock 990F0-M7GSW-000 Suzuki Ecstar MotoGP edition in 2017. However, the G-Shock logo did not appear to show up on that season’s Suzuki GSX-RR.

While not outwardly related to Grand Prix motorcycle racing, the existence of the G-Shock DW-6600-Yamaha and DW-6900FS Kawasaki Ninja 25th Anniversary is also worth noting.

Casio Edifice: Red Bull Racing

Casio launched the Edifice line in 2000, which has since developed an identity in motorsports. David Coulthard became an Edifice ambassador in 2008, with the Casio Edifice EF-529DC announced as his signature model. This was followed by a sponsorship deal with Red Bull Racing that spanned from 2009 to 2015, during which multiple team edition models were released. Sebastian Vettel editions were also released during this time.

Sebastian Vettel in the Red Bull Racing RB6. The Casio logo appears on the mechanics’ sleeves. (Photo: by LG전자, licensed under CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Casio Edifice: Scuderia Toro Rosso and AlphaTauri

When the senior Red Bull team switched to TAG Heuer for 2016, Casio Edifice continued the Red Bull relationship by pivoting to Scuderia Toro Rosso the same year. Casio would remain with the team through their 2020 rebranding to Scuderia AlphaTauri until the end of the 2022 season. Team-branded Casio Edifice models were released for both iterations of Red Bull’s junior team.

G-Shock and 56design

From 2008 until 2018, the G-Shock line has also collaborated with 56design, the lifestyle brand founded by Shinya Nakano in 2008. Released within the same year was the G-Shock GW-M5600BC 56design, followed by the G-Shock GW-M5600R 56design in 2010.

The next collaborations came in 2012, which included Japanese motorcycle magazine GOGGLE. The G-Shock SKY COCKPIT GW-4000 56design × GOGGLE and the G-Shock SKY COCKPIT GW-4000 56design were exclusively available on the GOGGLE website.

2015 included releases on both the G-Shock DW-D5600P and Baby-G BGD-501 platforms. Collaborations were with 56design as well as 56 Racing, Nakano’s racing team.

56design also collaborated with Moto NAVI, another Japanese motorcycle magazine. The G-Shock GA-100 56design x MOTO NAVI was released in 2017

What appeared to be the final 56design models came in 2018. The G-Shock GW-M5610BC-1JF 56design commemorated the 10th anniversary of 56design, and was only available through its stores. A G-Shock GSTB100X-1A with a 56design-stamped strap appeared in a launch photo, but is not well documented.

Casio Edifice: Honda

Casio has released various Honda editions through its Edifice line. One example is the Edifice EQS-800HR that was announced in 2018. Its packaging notably included a card commemorating the 1968 Honda F1 RA301.

Working directly with the manufacturer, the Casio Edifice EQW-A2000HR-1AJR was released in 2021 to commemorate 60 years since Honda’s first ever world championship motorcycle Grand Prix win in the 250cc category at the West German Grand Prix in 1961. The Casio Edifice ECB-S100HR-1A was also released in the same year to commemorate Honda’s first ever F1 car, the RA271.

Casio released the Edifice ECB-2300HR-1A in December of 2025, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Honda’s first Formula 1 race win at the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix by American driver Richie Ginther.