Honda has successfully established its position in the Formula 1 arena by achieving 71 wins out of 203 starts since first taking up the challenge in 1964. After a long hiatus, Honda last year returned once again to the pinnacle of single-seater racing with several important objectives in mind. These include: providing a "mobile training ground" for the next generation of Honda engineers; sharing the fun and excitement of racing with fans around the world; and further enhancing Honda's global brand image though competition at the highest technical level.

The company's third F-1 challenge started in the form of a collaboration with British American Racing (BAR) under the moniker "British American Racing Honda." This year, Honda has increased its commitment and determination by supplying a newly designed V10 engine, "Honda RA001E" to BAR-Honda and Jordan-Honda from its frontline base at Honda Racing Development (Headquarters: Berkshire, United Kingdom.) In the field of chassis development, the company will continue joint technological collaboration with BAR. As a result of these expanding Formula 1 activities, the number of teams and cars powered by Honda is now up to two teams and four cars.

Formula 1 Teams
British American Racing Honda (BAR-Honda)
FIA Registered Name: Lucky Strike Reynard British American Racing Honda
Headquarters: Brackley, Northampton, England
Founded: 1998

Jordan-Honda
FIA Registered Name: Benson & Hedges Jordan Honda
Headquarters: Silverstone, Northampton, England
Founded: 1991

Since its first entry in the CART FedEx Championship Series in 1994, Honda has recorded 53 wins out of 124 starts. This year, the company's CART activities will again be centered around Honda Performance Development, Inc. (a subsidiary of American Honda Motor Co., Inc.) as a supplier of engines to several major CART teams.

An all-new HR-1 V8 turbo-charged engine has been developed for the 2001 season.

The number of Honda-powered teams has increased from two to five this year. In addition to last year's Marlboro Team Penske, the defending champion, and Team KOOL Green, now entering its fifth consecutive year with Honda, three new Honda-powered teams will include Team Motorola, Fernandez Racing, and Mo Nunn Racing.

Drivers for these newly Honda-powered teams will include: Shinji Nakano, who has moved to Fernandez Racing; 1991 CART champion Michael Andretti driving for Team Motorola; and the power-duo of Alex Zanardi, 1997 and 1998 CART champion, and Tony Kanaan, who earned Honda its first 500-mile race victory, driving for Mo Nunn Racing.

With this formidable force of five teams and nine drivers- including three former champions and five race winners-Honda will be working hard throughout the 2001 season to clinch a fourth Manufacturers' title and a sixth consecutive Drivers' title in the CART arena.

Honda successfully developed an N-GT version of its NSX automobile for the Japanese GT Championship (JGTC) by providing technical support to the "Mugen ( Dome Project," a joint effort between Mugen Co., Ltd., and Dome Co., Ltd. Last year the collaborative efforts among these three companies allowed Honda NSXs to take both the Team and Drivers' Championships for the first time in four years of JGTC competition.

For this year's JGTC challenge, the NSX has been further upgraded and refined into a new 2001 version, which will be supplied to major teams through the Mugen ( Dome Project. Naturally, the Mugen and Dome joint force will also participate in the race, bringing the Honda JGTC lineup to the same level as last year's, including four teams and five cars.