HONDA The Power of Dreams

The history of motorcycle racing is, in fact, longer than that of car racing. The gasoline engine was completed in the late 19th century, and by that time, attempts to miniaturize and attach this engine to bicycles were already being made.

Gottlieb Daimler, who was involved in building the world’s first engine-powered car in 1886, had also completed the world’s first motorcycle, a bicycle with a gasoline engine attached, a year earlier. Daimler would never have thought of racing with it, however.

The RC162, the oldest in terms of age, was powered by a 249cc air-cooled, parallel 4-cylinder, DOHC, 4-valve engine mounted on a newly designed double backbone frame, and boasted an output of 45 PS at 14,000 rpm. In 1961 when it debuted, 21-year-old Kunimitsu Takahashi won the 250cc class of the West German GP in Hockenheim, Germany, riding his first GP. He became the first Japanese rider to win a grand prix, and it was Honda’s first 250cc class win. The RC162 is truly a historic machine for Honda. Riding the RC162 was Ralph Bryans, Tommy Robb, and Luigi Taveri. The high-pitched high-revving engine sound, overpowering the other machines, was recognizable from anywhere on the track.

The oldest racing bike at this year’s Goodwood was the 1927 Scott TT, with a two-stroke, water-cooled engine that was built by the Scott Motor Company, founded in 1909 in Yorkshire, England. This 1927 TT model also had a water-cooled, parallel twin-cylinder, two-stroke engine with 498 cc displacement mounted on the underside of the curiously shaped backbone frame. Its radiator was located above the engine, and the fuel tank was under the seat. This unusual layout is said to have been designed to lower the center of gravity and improve stability. As the name implies, it had performed well in TT (Tourist Trophy) races.

The outlier of this year’s Honda racing bikes is the Honda CRF450X RALLY, which competed in the 2006 Paris-Dakar Rally. Ridden by Mick Extance, the CRF was powered by a 449 cc single-cylinder, water-cooled, 4-stroke engine. The only changes from the CRF450 trail bike on which it was based were the addition of coolant and oil tanks, and a larger fuel tank. Rider Mick was the first British rider to complete the Paris-Dakar Rally in 2005. The exhaust sound of this machine was similar to that of 1910s racing cars, as it seemed to convey the movement of the pistons.

The newest Honda machine at Goodwood was the 2006 RC211V. Powered by a 990 cc 4-stroke V-5 DOHC engine with a maximum output of 240 hp and weighing only about 150 kg, its output was as powerful as an F1 machine. The RC211V was ridden by Casey Stoner, Honda’s promising rookie rider, just 20 years old.

The main attraction of a racing bike is that the regardless of its age, rider and machine can be seen and appreciated directly, and the power of the machine is obvious. Unlike F1, where the driver can only be identified by the color of the car and the design of the helmet, in motorcycle racing, where the rider’s body is exposed, spectators can see how the rider is controlling his bike. In a sense, this makes it a motorsport that can be enjoyed in a different way to F1. Among the spectators, there were many wearing leather coveralls with shoulders unstrapped, holding helmets in their hands, clearly recognizable as riders. This reminded me strongly of the fact that I was in the U.K., the country of motorcycles. The Goodwood Festival is an event where motorcycles and cars become one.

Goodwood is not an event limited to racing machines. The exhibition space, sponsored annually by Cartier, displays famous cars in line with this year’s theme, “Style et Luxe.” The biggest highlight is a 1938 American car, the Phantom Corsair. This huge front-wheel-drive car, the only one of its kind in the world, was built by Rust Heinz of the American food company Heinz for advertising purposes. Powered by a 4.7-liter V8 engine, It cost $24,000 to produce at the time. Another highlight is the BNC Monza 572, a 1927 French lightweight racing car. This was the most standard model with an inline four-cylinder 1100 cc engine. Noted for its style and sturdiness, it competed in amateur events throughout Europe in the late 1920s and 1930s. The curved struts supporting the front fenders and the large Marechal headlights were mounted at an angle give it a French flair. Also on display was the SAAB 92 001, a prototype passenger car built by SAAB in Sweden in 1948, and the Tatra 87 from the Czech Republic, built around 1937, with its three headlights and beautiful, perfectly streamlined design.

The Forest Rally Stage, a new exhibit launched last year, is also a highlight of the event. On a specially constructed rally course, the 1975 Lancia Stratos and Audi Quattro Coupe, both of which competed in the WRC, were driven by famous drivers such as Sandro Munari and Marcus Gronholm.

The Goodwood Festival of Speed is more exciting, more fun, and more mind-blowing than the phrase “moving car museum” could possibly describe. I have visited Goodwood several years in a row, and have never been bored here.