Motorcycle News homepage

02/07/2003 - Honda rains racing icons on Goodwood Festival

No fewer than four Formula One stars and two motorcycling legends spearhead Honda’s glittering line-up at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed taking place next week (11-13 July). From the 2003 B· A· R Honda team comes the latest incarnation of Honda’s F1 expertise, the B· A· R Honda 005 with drivers Jenson Button, Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson. From Honda’s victorious F1 past will be the McLaren Honda MP4/5 with Mika Salo at the wheel while legendary master of car and bike, John Surtees, takes to the hill in the 1967 Honda RA300.

On two wheels, five times 500cc Motorcycle World Champion, Mick Doohan will be lighting up the hill on the state-of-the-art Honda NR750. In total Honda is bringing four motorcycles, three Formula One cars, the racing version of its NSX-R and a replica of its unique Solar Car to the world-famous event.

Honda (UK) has been a sponsor of the Goodwood Festival of Speed since its inception in 1993 and has always used the event to showcase some of the world’s most famous racing vehicles. 2003 is no exception. As ever the world’s largest engine manufacturer will transport a delicious selection of vehicles to the Sussex event from its vast state-of-the-art collection hall in Motegi, Japan.

On Four Wheels...
Included in the Goodwood Festival of Speed 10th anniversary line-up is the 1967 Honda RA300 Formula One car. To be driven at Goodwood by John Surtees, this car was the first of many collaborations between Honda and outside specialists in the preparation of their racing cars, as it was a joint project - overseen by John Surtees - with Lola Cars. The RA300 was the second Honda to be built to the 1966 3-litre F1 regulations. It has an alloy monocoque/tubular frame and is powered by a 90-degree water-cooled V12 engine.

Fitted with mechanical fuel injection, the quad-cam 48-valve unit has an output of more than 420 hp at 11,500 rpm. The RA300 also has strong links with Goodwood, as it was at the Motor Circuit that the RA300 had a brief ‘shakedown’ before heading to Monza for its first race where it took victory at the hands of John Surtees in a dramatic last corner dash past Jack Brabham.

John Surtees to this day is the only man to have won world titles on two wheels and four. His relationship with Honda began when he drove for the team in the 1967 Formula One season.

Visitors this year will also be treated to the spectacle that is the Honda Marlboro McLaren MP4/5, with which Alain Prost won the 1989 Formula One World Championship title in a formidable partnership with Ayrton Senna. Between the two drivers, 15 pole positions and 10 wins were achieved over the 16 rounds that year. Ex-F1 driver, Mika Salo, will be lighting up the tyres once again at this year’s Festival.

Honda will also be bringing one of their most iconic sportscars for entry into the Supercar Class at Goodwood. The Honda NSX has its origins in the desire of Honda, crowned with six consecutive titles in the F1 Constructors’ World Championship, to create an exotic, handmade road-car, also capable of competing at the highest level of competition.

Developed in close collaboration with Ayrton Senna, the NSX has a centrally mounted 3.2-litre V6 all-aluminium engine producing 280 bhp at 7,300 rpm, propelling it from standstill to 60 mph in under six seconds with a top speed of over 160 mph. In a special appearance, celebrity actor and motoring enthusiast Anthony Edwards of TV show "ER" will delight the crowds as he takes to the NSX’s driving seat for a blast up the twists and turns of Goodwood’s 1.16 mile course.

Another major draw from the Motegi collection this year is sure to be Honda’s "Dream" - the world’s fastest solar car. In 1996 it travelled the breadth of Australia to win the Solar Challenge, an event specifically for cars that rely solely on the power of the sun’s rays for their source of energy. Averaging 56 mph, two Honda drivers-come-engineers took just 33.32 hours to complete the 1870-mile Darwin to Adelaide marathon ahead of 46 other solar-powered competitors.

On Two Wheels...
Honda Motor Company will not only be bringing legendary cars to Goodwood this year - it will also be transporting thoroughbred motorbikes from its collection to the event. The RC163 won all nine races in the 1962 250cc World Championship Series at the hands of Jim Redman. British rider Stuart Graham, the only winner of car and bike TT races, will be reunited with the RC163 at Goodwood.

Tommy Robb, also a former Honda factory rider and 350cc World Champion in 1962, will be in charge of the RC166. Winner of 10 out of 10 races in the 1966 250cc World Championship series, the RC166 is capable of generating 60 bhp at 18,000 rpm and also won the 1966 Isle of Man TT race at the hands of Mike Hailwood.

A year later, Hailwood and Honda returned to the TT with the six-cylinder RC174 and won again, in a season where the team had also claimed the 500cc World Championship by winning seven out of eight races. Northern Ireland rider, Ralph Bryans will be demonstrating the RC174 on the hill this July.

In what will be of major interest to bike fans at the event this year, five-times 500cc World Champion, Mick Doohan will be showcasing Honda’s 1991 £38,000 super production-bike - the NR750. The ultimate in technical innovation, only 200 of this ‘no expense spared’ machine were ever made with a mere 15 shipped to British shores. The engine is an oval-pistoned V-4 unit and is the only production bike to incorporate this system, developed by Honda R&D in order to get V-8 performance from an engine with half the cylinders. The NR750 was also the first production motorcycle to feature carbon fibre and titanium as standard composite parts.

B· A· R Honda completes the action-packed picture...
As well as offering a chance to look back at Honda’s hugely successful past, the Goodwood event also provides the opportunity to show off the current Honda competitors such as the 2003 B· A· R Honda Formula One car, the B· A· R Honda 005. The driving duties will be shared this year by British F1 star Jenson Button, B· A· R Honda’s third driver Japanese star Takuma Sato and B· A· R’s test driver Anthony Davidson.

Button, Sato and Davidson however, will only be showing half the story of an F1 team. While the drivers steer the car up the hill, their mechanics will be giving the Goodwood crowds some insight into their own equally vital role in the Formula One story. Throughout the weekend the B· A· R mechanics will be simulating the pit stop activity, changing tyres against the clock for all to see. The hour-long pit stop sessions will take place twice a day throughout the weekend in the public area and there will be prizes available for anyone who successfully guesses the times.