HONDA The Power of Dreams

The 2005 Goodwood Festival of Speed wrapped up its final day at Goodwood in Sussex, England on Sunday, June 26, with time trials held on the 1.16-mile (1.856 km) hill-climb course, As in yesterday’s event, a wide variety of Honda racing machines from the 1960s to the present day participated.

Nicky Hayden, who competes in the World Grand Prix (WGP) MotoGP class with the Repsol Honda Team, a Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) factory team, and Jenson Button, who competes in the F1 World Championship with B-A-R Honda, also participated in the time trial. As Hayden rode the RC211V and Button drove this year’s F1 car, the B-A-R Honda 007, along the track, fans cheered loudly to the powerful machines and their sounds.

The Goodwood Festival of Speed was started by Sir Charles March in 1993 when he opened up his vast private estate to the public, and has become one of the largest historic motorsports events in the world. Honda was invited by Sir March in 1999, and has participated for seven consecutive years since. This year, Honda is also the first Japanese car manufacturer to serve as the main sponsor of the event.

The racing machines, riders, and drivers participating today are:

I rode this RC116, a 50cc, two-cylinder Honda racer at Goodwood. The last time I raced this bike was at Monza in 1966, 39 years ago. I was still young, 39 years old actually, so I was a good rider. It was fun. This little machine was difficult to ride, as it had to be kept in the high rpm range, above 17,000 rpm all the time, between 17,000 and 20,000 rpm. You need a 9-speed gearbox to keep it in that range. But it is a very nice machine. The Collection Hall has done a wonderful job restoring it and it looks like new, fresh from the factory. I salute you them. All the machines that came from the Collection Hall are all in great condition. Thank you to each and every one of you who worked on them.

It’s an honor to be back here at Goodwood on a great bike that I rode a long time ago. From my point of view, and for many others, the six cylinder is the ultimate bike. So I am very happy to be here and to be surrounded by Honda people having a good time. There’s no pressure, and the Honda staff and we are having so much fun that it’s like a motorcycle party with a bunch of friends.

I'm very happy and honored to be invited. I’ve ridden Honda machines in TTs before, and I’ve won 5 or 6 times with Honda teams back in the day, but I’ve never been a factory rider. So it is a great honor to ride with Tommy Robb, Jim Redman, and Luigi Taveri on Mike Hailwood’s bike. I have been riding motorcycles since 1965, but I have never been to Goodwood. They used to have motorcycle races here in the old days, but they were not held here when I was racing. In the last few years, there have been two events a year. The Festival of Speed and the Revival. So I’m very happy to have been invited, and I’m getting older, so I just had to come.

I’ve been riding Honda bikes for 42 years now. That’s since Honda first started racing. In Japan I went to Suzuka in 1962. I retired in 1973 and my racing career ended then, but I still ride Honda bikes all over the UK. It is wonderful to be able to ride here on a factory machine that used to race around 1962-1963. This time it was especially emotional for me to be able to ride my old friend Mike Hailwood’s bike. I had ridden other machines before, but this was the first time for me. It was a rare opportunity. II’ve been coming to Goodwood for seven or eight years now, and every year it gets bigger and bigger. Since Honda is the host manufacturer this year, the Honda name that no one here will forget. Goodwood is always a great event because of its variety. So many cars and motorcycles on display, and spectators can see the factory machines on the hill, and there’s shopping too. There’s good food, and you can lie out in the sun. So it’s a big, big event.

As soon as I got across the ropes, the adrenaline started coursing through my body. I was a little nervous when I first got on the bike, but when I got to the start line, I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my fingers. It was hard to keep the engine at high revs, but once I got going, it was surprisingly easy, and it was amazing as I raced up the hill. It was a one-of-a-kind machine that has no comparison. If I could ride a different bike next year, I would be able to compare it with this one. The power was also really amazing. I still get excited just thinking about this afternoon. I wish I could have run more. It was great to see so many people and to ride in front of them, and I hope to keep the Hailwood name alive. The Hailwood and Honda names must last. It’s great to have so many visitors coming to see the bikes like this, and to have the name here forever, and to be able to talk to the fans.

It’s great to be able to ride this bike that I rode in the 1985 championship, which is like a part of me. The amazing thing is that the bike has been restored to almost its original condition and it runs like it used to. It feels really good and I am very happy to be part of Honda’s celebration of 40 years of GP racing. Thank you very much.

I’m here at Goodwood and it’s the best meeting of the year and there are a lot of people here. I’ve had the opportunity to ride 1960s Honda factory bikes for the past two years. Today I rode the Honda 6 (RC166, 6-cylinder), the most famous bike in the world, the bike that was voted Bike of the Millennium in 2000.

This is my first time here. The are a lot of bikes, old and new. It’s very different from a MotoGP race weekend. Everyone here is relaxed and having fun. You are very close to the fans and you can hear their cheers. Everyone loves bikes here. Honda has a lot of cool bikes, like the NSR ridden by Freddie [Spencer] and Mick [Doohan], and many cool bikes before that. It’s a great honor for me to be able to participate with these legendary riders. They have brought awareness to motorcycles, and they have been doing it for a long time. So I’m just thrilled to be a part of it. I had a tough race yesterday in Holland, so today I just enjoyed riding the bike. I relaxed and enjoyed it.