Following the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July, Honda’s celebrations of the 60th anniversary since its first F1 race continued across the Atlantic in August, at Monterey Car Week on the U.S. west coast.
The Goodwood Festival of Speed and Monterey Car Week are similar in a number of ways: they are both automobile-themed events, covering the latest models, historic cars, and motorsports, expressing both the static and dynamic aspects of automobiles. On the other hand, the biggest difference between the two is that the Goodwood Festival of Speed is a single event held on Lord March’s private property in Goodwood, while Monterey Car Week is the collective name for a series of automotive events held within a 15 km radius around Monterey, California.
The highlights of Monterey Car Week are the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, the Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, and the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, held at the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, the Quail Lodge & Golf Club, and the Pebble Beach Golf Links, respectively. These venues also known to fans as Laguna Seca, The Quail, and Pebble Beach.
Of these events, Laguna Seca could be described as a dynamic event for historic cars and the latest models, the Quail as a static event for historic cars and the latest models, and Pebble Beach as a static event for historic cars.
These three events cover almost the entire role of Goodwood, and in terms of prestige, Pebble Beach and the Quail are as high as that of the Festival of Speed. The historic cars competing in Pebble Beach, in particular, are undoubtedly among the world’s finest in terms of historical value and price, while the latest million dollar luxury cars line up in the Quail, and in terms of glamour, they are even superior to the Festival of Speed. Throughout the week, a wide variety of automotive exhibitions are held in and around Monterey. Some events are smaller in scale, with cars displayed in mall parking lots or on the side of the road.
On the more dynamic side, while the Festival of Speed’s main attraction is the 1.9km-long hill climb, Laguna Seca is a 3.6km-long full-scale racetrack that includes the legendary Corkscrew chicane with a steep decline. It is also the venue for some of America’s leading racing series, such as IndyCar and IMSA. In other words, Laguna Seca features more dynamic and exciting scenes than the Festival of Speed.
Honda participated in this Laguna Seca event with the RA272 to celebrate its 60th anniversary since first participating in F1.
For the #11 RA272, which brought Honda its first F1 victory, the Americas are indeed a memorable venue. In 1965, the RA272 took the crown in Mexico in 1965, driven by Californian Richie Ginther. In a sense, appearing at Laguna Seca was a homecoming for the RA272.
The participation at Laguna Seca was the first time the RA272 was in the U.S. since October 3, 1965, when it participated in the 9th U.S. Grand Prix held at Watkins Grain near New York. Ginther finished 7th there, but enjoyed the taste of victory in the following and final race, the Mexican Grand Prix.
After participating in the Festival of Speed in July this year, the RA272 was transported directly to the U.S., to be displayed at the entrance of American Honda Motor before being brought to the paddock of Laguna Seca. The difference between the U.S. and the U.K. was notable, in the partition set up in front of the Laguna Seca garage.
The belt partitions used at the Festival of Speed are similar to those often seen in crowded event halls. The height of the partition was about the waist of an adult, and the width was about 10 cm. In this respect at the British event, inside and outside were completely separated.
In Laguna Seca, in stark contrast, a thin rope stretched around the garage at a height of about 30 cm from the ground is all that separates the cars from the spectators. The ropes are easily missed, and spectators could enter the garage without much thought or trouble. Furthermore, the ropes only cover the front and rear of the garage, allowing easy entry to see the RA272 up close from adjacent garages. Even so, not a single fan entered the roped-off area without asking. Compared to the UK, the intention of welcoming spectators was clear, and there seemed to be less of a distinction between inside and out.
The same difference in culture could be seen as the cars were guided onto the track.
At Goodwood, officials cordoned off the paddock aisles to prevent spectators from entering, before guiding the cars from the garage to the track. These was basically no way for spectators to touch the cars.
In contrast at Laguna Seca, there were basically no ropes to cordon off a pathway. Although officials blew their whistles to alert the spectators, nothing stopped them from touching the cars if they wanted to. This could be seen as a sign of respect for the spectators’ manners, and an openness that, somewhat exaggeratedly, symbolizes the “Land of the Free.”
This difference in awareness was also apparent in how the audiences reacted to the RA272’s engine firing-up demonstration.
The British fans watched in silence as the engine started, and applauded calmly as the warm-up was complete. The atmosphere could be described as solemn.
The reaction in the U.S. was not completely dissimilar, but was somewhat more open than in the U.K. Although there were no actual cheers or sharp whistling, it felt as if there were.
Chief Mechanic Hisashi Kawabata explained the engine fire-up sequence.
“First, with the fuel pump and ignition turned off, we turn the starter to circulate the oil and check that the oil pressure rises, and then turn on the fuel pump and ignition. Even if the engine starts at this point, if the oil temperature is low and the rpm is increased, the internal parts of the engine will be chewed up, so we warn the engine first at around 4000 rpm. After that, we raise the rpm by watching the oil and fuel pressures, and the water and oil temperatures. By judging the gauge readings and the way the engine revs up and the “shimmering” feel, we raise the rpm.”
The climax of the process is undoubtedly when the engine is revved hard and high. “At that time, the revs peaked at about 10,000 rpm, but this also differs slightly between Car #11 and #12. The main purpose of sharply revving the engine is to warm it up, and then I check the condition of the engine by watching how it revs up. I started the engine yesterday (August 16), but it’s a lot better today. This seems to be subtly related to the temperature, humidity, air pressure, and such,” Kawabata described.
The sudden revving is also for the spectators:
“The spectators come to hear the engine, so of course I want them to hear the pleasant sound.”
What is most important when conducting a firing-up demo? Kawabata says, “To not break the engine, of course, but we also want to make sure it is safe. If fuel leaks, it could cause a fire. This is our primary concern, as a fire could be a serious problem with customers surrounding the engine.”
That is the reason why two mechanics with fire extinguishers stand by while Kawabata fires up the engine.
There is another story from Laguna Seca.
In 1964, when Honda first entered F1, Steve, the eldest son of Ronnie Bucknum, Honda’s first F1 driver, and Jeff, Ronnie’s second son, visited the Honda paddock at Laguna Seca. Steve looked upon the RA272 fondly, and told this story.
“I remember sitting in the cockpit of the RA272 when I was a kid at Willow Spring Raceway (California) when Honda was testing F1 cars there.”
Steve added, “My father Ronnie swapped cars with his colleague Richie Ginther after qualifying for the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix, the first race that Honda F1 won, and Ginther won the Mexican Grand Prix in the car that my father qualified in.”
The young Steve had probably sat in the #12 RA272, which his father had driven.
However, if Richie Ginther’s #11 was later replaced by Ronnie Bucknum’s #12, the #11 RA272 in front of Steve right now was the very car he sat in as a child. It was uncanny.
Ronnie Bucknum, an American F1 driver, had been friends with actor and racing driver Steve McQueen for some time, and when his first son was born, he asked McQueen to be his godfather. In other words, Steve Bucknum's name came from Steve McQueen.
Steve’s younger brother Jeff followed the same path as his father, becoming a racing driver and competed in the IndyCar Series with Honda engines in 2005 and 2006.
There are more ties between Honda’s first F1 era and the U.S.:
In May 1964, just before the first Honda F1 team competed in its first race, Soichiro Honda was spotted at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. At that time, Soichiro was visiting the U.S. with Kimio Niimura, who was in charge of the Racer Design Room, to watch the Indy 500. In November 1968 after the season finale Mexican GP, instead of returning to Japan, the Honda F1 team stayed on in the U.S. to drive the RA301, that year’s F1 car, on the Indianapolis Motor Way to collect detailed data.
The challenging spirit of members from the first F1 era lived on, and in the 1980s, Honda began to consider the possibility of competing in the IndyCar Series. In 1994, Honda made its debut in the IndyCar Series, and 30 years later, this project is still ongoing. The experience gained in Honda’s first F1 era is still alive and well on the American continent.
On August 17, the last day of the Laguna Seca event, two demo runs were held. The first, during lunchtime, was the McMurty Exhibition, followed by the Mario Andretti Trophy Race after 2pm, in which historic F1 cars led the formation lap. Hikaru Miyagi, who has overseen numerous restorations including the RA272 as a test driver at the Honda Collection Hall, was the driver for both demo runs.
Both runs were conducted under clear skies and bright sunlight. In contrast to Goodwood, the RA272’s engine had no problems firing up. Perhaps the California climate and the RA272 were a good match. There were concerns that the engine would overheat as drivers had to wait almost 3 minutes between starting the engine and driving on the Laguna Seca track, but thanks to Miyagi's precise throttle work, there were no issues. Miyagi completed five laps at a slow pace of 2 min 30s to 3 min during the McMurty Exhibition, and one lap in the formation lap of the Mario Andretti Trophy Race.
Miyagi later said, “I think we were able to send a very good Honda message to the world with the demo runs at Goodwood and Laguna Seca. After all, this is a machine that has rarely been driven overseas.”
What was going through Miyagi’s mind during the demo runs?
“There are so many things to think about, such as the track, the car, the sound the customers would hear, so there was no time to think about much else. I tried not to break the car, and to drive with a high level of precision,” commented Miyagi.
Miyagi felt that meeting the fans in the paddock was a blissful moment. He said, “I was really surprised to see how many people came to the pits with such interest in the RA272. Some of them knew more about this car than I did, so I was more than happy to be able to talk with them, rather than just sending out a one-way message.”
Participation in the events at Goodwood and Laguna Seca was the perfect opportunity to reaffirm the gravitas of Honda’s six decades of F1 involvement. Honda F1 will undoubtedly continue into the future.