HONDA’S RACING PHILOSOPHY

Honda’s distinguished racing history was originally driven by a simple need: to convince sceptical buyers outside Japan that their products were durable and reliable.

That is a given today with Japanese products, from cars to cameras, but it was not always so. In the 1950s Japan still lived with its pre-war reputation for delivering poor quality goods to market, a problem that had since been solved by a new generation of businessmen, including Soichiro Honda.

What better way to convince a sceptical world and make them sit up and take notice than to win races? The first Honda foray was to the Isle of Man TT and the company has since proved its engineering excellence and originality on two wheels and four, in everything from Formula 1 to Superbikes.

That philosophy was driven from the outset by Soichiro Honda, a former racing driver himself, who said after one Honda motor racing win:

Honda have just done just that and its racing teams have been at the forefront of securing its hard-earned reputation for quality, reliability and innovation.

The roll of honour is a long one and here are just a few highlights:

1959: Honda enters the Isle of Man TT for the first time with its 125cc racers.

1961: Honda records its first win as Tom Phillis brought his 125cc Honda home in first place at the Spanish Grand Prix and in Germany, Kunimitsu Takahashi became the first Japanese rider to win a World GP event, with his 250cc Honda. Honda becomes World Champion in the 125cc and 250cc categories.

1962: Honda’s gears up for its entry to Formula 1 two years later with the appointment of Hideo Sugiura, whose concerns were put into perspective by Yoshihito Kudo, who oversaw the research programme. “Everyone’s a beginner at first,” he said.

1965: Richie Ginther races to Honda’s first F1 victory in Mexico in the 48-valve V12 Honda RA272.

1966: Honda moves up to the 500cc category and secures a clean sweep of titles in all five classes – 50, 125, 250, 350 and 500cc.

1983: The 12 races that made up the World GP series were won by either Yamaha’s Kenny Roberts or Honda’s Freddie Spencer, with Spencer winning the title by two points, giving Honda its first World GP 500cc championship. It also won the constructor’s title for the first time since its Grand Prix comeback

1984: A year after Honda re-entered F1 following a 15-year break, Keke Rosberg won the 1984 Dallas Grand Prix in a Honda-powered Williams.

1987: Powering both Lotus and Williams, Honda took the Drivers’ and Constructors’ World Championships.

1988: Honda’s partnership with McLaren and the driver pairing of Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna won 15 out of 16 with the turbocharged RA168-E V6 virtually unbeatable. Senna took the Drivers’ championship and Honda won the Constructors’ title.

1996: Honda enjoys its first BTCC win as the late David Leslie triumphs at Silverstone. They have since gone on to record 157 wins, with current driver Matt Neal out in front of the rest with 54 wins.

2005: Honda bought out BAR and took on a factory Formula 1 team for the first time in almost 50 years, with Jenson Button taking his first career victory in Hungary and Honda finishing fourth in the Constructors’ Championship.

2011: The Repsol Honda team fielded three bikes ridden by Dani Pedrosa, Andrea Dovizioso and 2007 World Champion Casey Stoner. The RC212V was too strong for the opposition and Stoner took the championship, with Honda also taking the Team trophy and its 60th Constructor’s title.