HONDA The Power of Dreams

Honda, celebrating its 60th anniversary since it first participated in F1 racing, was invited to the Goodwood Festival of Speed, one of the most important events in European automotive culture and tradition.

The Festival of Speed does not have a long history, as it was first held in 1993, but considering that the event is hosted by the Duke of Richmond, a British nobleman, and that the event’s venue is a vast, 4,452-hectare private estate (roughly 968 Tokyo Domes) that has been in the Duke’s family for generations, the prestige of the event is unquestionable.

This private estate is not only large, but also includes the ducal residence, a hotel, a racecourse, a cricket ground, a golf course, and an airfield (formerly a Royal Air Force base) scattered among its hills. In summer, the landscape turns a dazzling green.

Interestingly, there is also a hill-climb course (approximately 1.9 km long) and a racing course, the Motor Circuit (approximately 3.8 km long), on the same grounds.

These courses were built by Frederick Gordon-Lennox, 9th Duke of Richmond, the predecessor of the current owner, Charles Gordon-Lennox, 11th Duke of Richmond. An amateur race driver since his 20s, the 9th Duke reportedly took a friend’s advice to use the airfield’s surroundings as a racing track, which was opened in 1948. The hill-climb course opened 12 years earlier, giving it a tradition of nearly 90 years.

Although these facilities had been closed to the public since the 1960s, the current owner, Charles Gordon-Lennox, who has a deep respect for automotive culture, conceived the idea of the Festival of Speed to be held on the extensive grounds and hill-climb course. The motor circuit has also hosted revivals and members’ meetings, and Goodwood once again became to be seen as “the hallowed ground of British motorsports.”

The Festival of Speed, which attracts historic car brands from all over the world, has come to play a role as a new social venue for automotive culture amid the downturn in the number of motor shows held around the world. The fact that Honda has been invited to participate in such a prestigious and international event is undoubtedly a great honor in itself.

Honda decided to respond to this honor with the utmost respect.

First, Honda decided to send the RA272, the F1 car that brought the company its first F1 victory at the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix, to Goodwood for a demonstration run on the hill-climb course. The Honda Collection Hall, which stores and maintains Honda's historic bikes and cars. Of the two RA272s in its collection, the Collection Hall sent the actual #11 car driven by Richard Ginther that gave Honda its first F1 victory. The RA272 was driven in the hill-climb on Saturday by Hikaru Miyagi, Honda Collection Hall test driver and former Honda factory rider, and on Sunday by Yuki Tsunoda, current F1 driver for the Visa Cash App RB F1 Team.

By Tsunoda driving the 60-year-old RA272, the past and present of Honda F1 have been connected.

This year also marks the 20th anniversary of Oracle Red Bull Racing’s participation in F1. The team brought to Goodwood an array of F1 cars from past years, and almost all of these cars took part in the hill-climb.

One of the most notable Red Bull F1 cars was the 2022 RB18. Although Honda had withdrawn from F1 after 2021, many people know that the RB18’s power unit made by Red Bull Powertrains was built with the technical support of Honda Racing Corporation (HRC). The RB18 gave Oracle Red Bull Racing its first constructors’ and drivers’ titles in 10 years since 2013, so it is also a memorable machine for Honda. The RA272 and RB18 driving up the hill-climb in succession also had an important meaning for Honda in terms of looking back at its F1 history.

Motorcycle racing is also an integral part of Honda’s motorsports activities. In fact, Honda’s history of challenging the pinnacle of world-class motorsports began with the Isle of Man TT Races in 1959. The RC142 that competed in this legendary race, and the RC213V currently competing in MotoGP, also participated in the hill-climb, demonstrating Honda’s well over half a century of motorsports history in both the racing car and bike categories. Shinya Nakano rode the RC142 on the hill-climb, while Stefan Bradl rode the RC213V.

On Saturday, a warm-up session was held in the paddock before the RA272 drove out for the first time on the hill-climb.

Most of the F1 cars participating in the Festival of Speed were displayed in the Ballroom Paddock, side by side with the Honda machines, waiting for their turn to participate in the hill climb. By the time the RA272’s engine fired up, almost all the other cars were at the trackside preparation area. In order to prevent confusion, the officials had set up ropes about 10 meters away from the RA272 to keep the spectators at a distance.

Once Miyagi was in the RA272’s cockpit in front of the spectators, mechanics prepared to efficiently start the engine. The spectators watched in silence. Once the Chief Mechanic Hisashi Kawabata gave the order, the 1.5-liter V12 engine fired up instantly, making a distinctive high-pitched tone. Miyagi, entrusted by Kawabata with the throttle, sharply revved the engine a couple of times before being shut down on Kawabata’s cue. Silence momentarily prevailed.

Then, onlookers burst into applause. Miyagi got out of the cockpit, waved to them, and bowed. There seemed to be a kind of unspoken emotional exchange between the Honda crew and onlookers, through the 60-year-old F1 machine. Perhaps the applause was aimed the engineers who created the RA272 six decades ago.

Time for the hill-climb run fast approached, and the mechanics pushed the RA272 to the preparation area. Soon, all the participating cars in the same batch were assembled to drive down the hill to the starting line, but only the RA272 failed to fire up, despite it being so lively during the warm-up.

Kawabata and his crew kept calm while they went over the startup procedure repeatedly to start the engine. Still, the Honda V12 would not fire up. Two, three, four times, then the engine came to life. Miyagi, grateful for his luck, quickly made his way to the starting line.

Kawabata commented, “You may think that the engine would of course start up without issue, but it’s actually a miracle for the RA272 just to start.” The engineers of 60 years ago created the RA272 with the sole intention of building a fast F1 car, and they could not have imagined that the car would still be running 60 years later.

What’s more, the Honda Collection Hall maintains their cars in their original condition as much as possible. It might have been easier to start the engine using parts made with the latest technology, but that would not gel with Honda’s way of thinking. Considering the distance from home, in such conditions, getting the engine to start on time may have been something of a miracle, as Kawabata put it.

As Kawabata’s fears proved true, when it came time to drive the hill climb, the RA272’s engine was still moody. Kawabata and his team persisted calmly in contrast to onlookers who were nervous. To be sure, the team borrowed an auxiliary battery from another entrant to start the engine, but failed. Moving the car back and forth to change the drivetrain’s engagement did not work either. Finally, they tried push-starting, but still the engine would not start. Eventually, the officials told the team to move the RA272 to an open space near the starting line. Kawabata and his team continued to work in silence. Soon, a crowd of spectators had gathered to watch them while they worked.

Time passed by. Suddenly, the RA272 came back to life, spreading a high-pitched sound throughout the surroundings. The crowd applauded. Miyagi selected first gear and started the RA272 carefully, keeping the engine revs steady. Soon, the small RA272 disappeared into the distance.

The RA272 drive on Day 1 was a success, but barely within the allotted time.

On Day 2, Tsunoda was the driver, attracting many fans in front of the RA272 display area, who stood two or three rows deep, proving to be a popular event.

Soon after, Tsunoda appeared, signing autographs for the fans. This was the first time Tsunoda had seen the RA272, and he seemed genuinely mesmerized by the pure white racing machine. After a quick seat adjustment, he received the cockpit drill from Miyagi. According to Tsunoda, Miyagi’s advice was very precise and helpful.

Once again the RA272’s engine was not easy to fire up, but was better than the previous day. Tsunoda was able to complete his run as scheduled.

Tsunoda recalled his hill-climb:

“Each step in starting up the car needs to be followed with great care, inevitable with a F1 car aiming for the highest levels. On the other hand once started, the car’s feel and directness is completely different to modern F1 cars, and I felt as one with the car. The vibrations transmitted from the tires and engine are really pleasant. Also, the advice Miyagi gave me was very helpful, and when I drove the car as he advised, I felt like it responded really well. This was my first time driving the RA272, and I was very careful, so I’d like to enjoy the drive a little more the second time around.

Unfortunately for Tsunoda, there was no second time. Tsunoda would drive the RB18 instead of the RA272, and Miyagi would once again drive the RA272 in Tsunoda’s place.

Tsunoda later shared his impressions:

“It was a great honor to drive the RA272, Honda’s F1-winning machine, in the event celebrating Honda’s 60th anniversary in F1. It was like stepping back in time, and driving two F1 cars built almost 60 years apart was a very refreshing experience. Of course, the RA272 and the RB18 are completely different cars, but I feel that they share some similarities in the sense that they both pursued the cutting-edge technology of their times. Anyway, my first time at Goodwood was a lot of fun, and I wanted to try again.”

The Festival of Speed, which celebrated Honda’s 60th anniversary since its first F1 race, came to a successful conclusion. Surrounded by many prestigious teams and brands, Honda was warmly welcomed by an unexpectedly large number of fans, perhaps in recognition of its bravery in challenging the pinnacle of motorsports, from a distant Oriental island nation where there was virtually no information about F1 60 years ago.

Honda’s challenging spirit and its long tradition of success stands proud, at the level of historic European automakers. The reception at Goodwood seemed to reflect this sentiment.