Honda to field seven entries at Pike’s Peak

by Mike Lingeman

Honda will join the 2014 Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb as a sponsor and a competitor, the company said on Thursday. The company will run five cars up the hill, in addition to a motorcycle and an ATV.

"Pikes Peak presents us with a unique opportunity to showcase Honda's diverse product lineup as we work to further strengthen Honda's presence in racing at all levels," said Art St. Cyr, president of Honda Performance Development, the racing arm of American Honda. "Our associates will be working hard between now and race day to prepare this diverse field of race vehicles and showcase the Honda Racing Spirit."

In the Unlimited class, the one that Monster Tajima owns, Honda will field the Norma, a Honda-powered purpose-built racer. French driver Romain Dumas will be behind the wheel. In the Pikes Peak Open class, Honda will run a first-gen Acura NSX with James Robinson at the helm. Honda PR flack Sage Marie will drive the S3700 in the Time Attack class. Corey Taguchi will drive a Honda Fit B-Spec in Exhibition and finally in the EV class, Roy Richards will pilot the Fit EV.

Honda is also working with the Pikes Peak sanctioning body to improve safety on the course. Honda joined with the American Medical Association to implement the AirFence on key corners, providing a soft-wall safety barrier.

This isn’t Honda’s first time at Pikes Peak. In 2011, the company brought a Fit hatchback to the famous hill climb. In 2012, it fielded an Acura NSX powered by an ALMS engine. In 2013, it brought 11 vehicles to compete in 10 classes.

The 2014 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb takes place on Sunday, June 29.


Source;
http://www.autoweek.com/article/20140424/CARNEWS/140429910

Acura TLX GT race car to compete in the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix

Will compete against the Audi R8 LMS, Cadillac CTS-V, Mercedes SLS & Ferrari 458

Acura has announced the TLX GT will make its racing debut at the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix on May 30th.

Set to compete in the Pirelli World Challenge GT Class, the car was developed by Honda Performance Development (HPD) and will be campaigned by RealTime Racing. Acura declined to release performance specifications but they have previously confirmed the model will have a twin-turbo V6 engine that is loosely based on the 3.5-liter V6 that resides in the 2015 TLX which will be unveiled at the New York Auto Show.

According to HPD President Art St. Cyr, "The competition in the 2014 Pirelli World Challenge is incredible, but Acura has never shied away from strong competition, in the marketplace or on the race track. The 2015 Acura TLX is a true luxury sport sedan, so it is fitting that the car be raced against several of its natural competitors, and even some up-market brands, in the Pirelli World Challenge."

Source;
http://www.worldcarfans.com/114032572319/acura-tlx-gt-race-car-to-compete-in-the-detroit-belle-isle

Super GT Provisional Entry List Revealed

For those of you that don't know, this was going to be the replacement for the Acura/Honda NSX....
It’s shaping up to be a great season of Super GT this year with the news that 13 GT500 and 25 GT300 teams have completed entry registrations.

Among those 13 GT500 teams, 5 supported by Honda with its new HSV-010 GT with Epson, Keihin, Raybrig, ARTA and Weider teams running the new car. Only three teams, Calsonic Impul, HIS Advan Kondo and Motul Autech, will field Nissan’s GT-R in 2010 with Hasemi Motorsport leaving their GT-R behind and moving out of the GT500 class to enter a Nissan Fairlady Z in the GT300 class. Nissan has also introduced a new 3.4L V8 for this season and hopes to be very competitive up against the previous season winning Lexus SC430.

GT300 class has had a total of 25 registrations, two more than last year thanks to the previously mentioned team Hasemi Motorsport, plus an new entry in the form of an Aston Martin V8 Vantage fielded by A Speed. ThunderAsia Racing is a Singapore-based team running a Mosler MT900M and will be the first wholly international team to race in the Super GT for an entire season. The team that brought an ‘Itasha’ BMW Z4 M to Round 6 of the 2008 Super GT season will return this year but under a new organisation, now named Goodsmile Racing with Cox and fielding a Porsche 911. Toyota Team Tsuchiya that raced in the GT500 class previously will now be called Samurai Team Tsuchiya and enter the GT300 class with a car that has yet to be announced.

An interesting battle among tire manufacturers will surely add some spice to each race too with all three Nissan GT-Rs running different tire brands, with Nismo Motul Autech running Michelin tires, Calsonic Impul running Bridgestone and the HIS Advan Kondo running Yokohama. So expect to see some different race strategies between these teams running the same car but different tire brands.

The season opener will be held at Suzuka Circuit on March 20 – 21.
Entry list: http://supergt.net/supergt/news/2010n/news100222_1e.htm

Source;
http://www.7tune.com/super-gt-provisional-entry-list-revealed/

New Honda NSX race car

A newly-built Honda NSX race car will compete in this weekend’s Britcar race at Brands Hatch.
The unique NSX has been built to comply with the Britcar Production regulations and it successfully completed its shakedown at Snetterton last week.

See the hi-res pics of the new Honda NSX race car

The car has been prepared by Colchester-based John Danby Racing and it will be driven in the two races on 7 November, one of which is at night, by Vicki Butler-Henderson, James Barclay and David Fenn.

John Danby, team principal, said: “The uniqueness and advanced technology involved in this project presented several new challenges and we are pleased to debut this exciting car at the last event of the 2009 season.”

Features over the standard car include upgraded brakes, dampers and tyres, while engine control and data-logging capabilities including GPS, Fly by Wire and live feed video also feature.
Last week, Honda announced it was axing its iconic NSX from the Japanese Super GT championship after 13 years of competing.

Honda NSX racer axed

During its time racing in the series - Japan's top class for GT cars - the NSX-GT has won the driver and team championships, in 2000 and 2007. The car has also sat on pole 49 times and won 36 races.

Source;
http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/Honda-NSX/244522/

Acura Upstages Audi And Peugeot Taking The Pole At Sebring

Ferran Motorsports will be on pole position for Saturday’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Fresh From Florida.

Scott Dixon in the Acura ARX-02a set the fastest lap time in today’s qualifying session. The expected battle between Audi and Peugeot was fought out on the track, but on a last lap attempt the Acura team beat them all.

Read the article, (via Autospies.com);
http://www.planetlemans.com/2009/03/19/sebring-12-hours-qualifying-report/

Acura says sports-car prototype operation will continue

So, even though Honda is backing away from F1, they are still working on a the LMP1 Sports Car. My guess is that as soon as this economic downturn starts to rebound we'll see Honda back at the F1 table.For those paying close attention, the stunning news that Honda will quit Formula One effective immediately raises another question: what does the news mean for the LMP1-class sports-car prototype program that Honda subsidiary Acura announced Labor Day weekend during the Detroit Grand Prix?

Attempts to reach Honda Performance Development officials on Friday were unsuccessful, but the company released the following statement:


"It is unfortunate that current global economic challenges have necessitated the cessation of Honda’s participation in Formula One racing. However, Honda’s U.S.-based motorsports activities are expected to continue in 2009.


"Racing has played an essential role in Honda’s history as a company, and the competition that racing provides has always been a cornerstone of Honda’s corporate values. We race to learn, and we race to win. We plan to continue both of those traditions in 2009 and beyond."

However, with the cost of an LMP1 program believed to reach--and exceed--$60 million, the question remains: Does Honda's F1 pullout portend more bad news for racing fans? With Audi announcing on Friday that it will also scale back its hugely successful diesel-powered LMP1 effort in 2009, a best-case scenario for the American Le Mans Series could see Acura racing for wins between its own Highcroft Racing and De Ferran Motorsports teams. Certainly, there will be no Acura vs. Audi all-out factory factory efforts in 2009.


Source;http://www.autoweek.com/article/20081206/FREE/812069997