Guaranteed victory on Saturday night at the Richmond International Raceway by virtue of being the sole IRL IndyCar Series engine supplier, Honda are already preparing the celebrations for what will be their 100th open-wheel victories in the United States. source: crash.net The debut was inauspicious: an 8th-place run in Surfers Paradise, Australia. The first win, Andre Ribeiro at New Hampshire International Speedway's one-mile oval, didn't come until almost 18 months later. But Honda's North American open- wheel racing programme was established that day, leading to nine seasons of Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) competition; and another four in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series, since 2003. Since then, the victories have come fast and furious for Honda's North American open-wheel racing effort, and this weekend's SunTrust Challenge at Richmond International Raceway will mark Honda's 100th North American open-wheel race victory. "Thinking back to 1995, when we won our first race after two years of testing, development and racing, and knowing the effort and hardship that went into achieving that milestone, it seems incredible that we're about to mark our 100th win," said Robert Clarke, President of Honda Performance Development (HPD). "In New Hampshire in 1995 at the time of that first win, 100 wins would have seemed like a pure fantasy to us." Win Number 10 came less than a year later, as Ribeiro posted his third career CART win at Michigan International Speedway. The 25th victory was a thrilling come-from-behind effort from eventual double CART champion Alex Zanardi at Cleveland; while the 50th win, at the Mid- Ohio Sports Car Course, also marked the arrival of future double Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves.
Recent Articles
|
Racing Multimedia
Recommendations |