Umamusume: Pretty Derby is taking its racing ambitions somewhere rather less expected: Formula 1. Cygames has announced that the game is the first founding partner of the Japanese Grand Prix, with a separate naming-rights deal set to put Umamusume’s name on Suzuka’s famous 130R corner.
The corner will become Umamusume 130R from 20 November 2026 for approximately one year. If your crossover predictions stopped at another in-game collaboration, congratulations, the horse girls have just lapped the prediction sheet.
The partnership covers the 2027 Japanese Grand Prix, scheduled for 9 to 11 April at Suzuka Circuit. Cygames plans a special Umamusume booth in the GP Square Fanzone, with further details about the fan activities still to come.
There is an important distinction between the corner’s new name and the branding fans will see around it. Promotional material is due to appear from the November Super Formula event, including the unofficial session on 20 November, but Cygames explicitly says promotions will not be displayed at 130R during the 2027 F1 Japanese Grand Prix.
In other words, the deal does not mean the corner will be covered in Umamusume advertising during the Formula 1 race. The founding-partner activities at the event and the temporary naming agreement are related announcements with different practical details.
Cygames draws the connection through the teamwork behind racing success, comparing its trainers and trainees with drivers and their teams. It is a fairly unusual route from a sports life simulation to one of motorsport’s best-known circuits, but the shared obsession with crossing the line first does at least make sense.
For now, the confirmed news is the partnership, the temporary rename and the planned fanzone presence. Any specific activities beyond those will need to wait for the next announcement. You can find the public details in the official announcement or store listing.