KANSAS CITY, KAN. ? The Indy Racing League’s eighth season will be the circuit’s longest, with 16 events from early March through mid-October on the 2003 schedule.

The schedule includes the IRL’s first international race, set for April 13 the third race of the season at Twin Ring Motegi, Honda’s track north of Tokyo.

In May, the IRL signed a three-year deal to race at the 1.5-mile oval, which had been the site of a race in the rival CART circuit for the past five years. CART’s current contract ran out after its race there in April.

The deal to race in Japan was related to the IRL’s announcement in May that Honda will join the circuit next year as an engine manufacturer.

Tony George, IRL’s president and chief executive officer, couldn’t resist a dig at CART in his announcement Saturday at Kansas Speedway, site of Sunday’s Ameristar 200.

“The lineup of tracks represents the finest motorsports facilities in the country,” George said, “and we are now in position to take the best form of American open-wheel racing to the league’s partners and fans in Japan.”

The season opens March 2 at Homestead-Miami Speedway and concludes Oct. 12 at Texas Motor Speedway. The race in Japan will be the last before the Indianapolis 500, set for May 25.

Texas Motor Speedway also maintained its other traditional spot on the schedule the first post-Indy 500 race, scheduled for June 7.

The other dates are at Pikes Peak on June 13, Richmond on June 28, Kansas on July 6, Nashville on July 19, Michigan on July 27, Gateway on Aug. 10, Kentucky on Aug. 17, Nazareth on Aug. 24, Chicagoland on Sept. 7 and California on Sept. 21.

All but the race in Japan will be televised live; ABC will carry that race on a delay.

“We’ve worked really hard on developing a schedule that maintains fan interest throughout the season while not creating unrealistic workloads on teams and officials,” said Brian Barnhart, the IRL’s vice president of operations. “By achieving those goals with this schedule, the end result is better racing.”