Honda Racing Corporation (HRC US) has announced the HRC Heritage Racing Programme, which will launch at Monterey Car Week in California.
The new HRC Heritage Racing Programme offers sales, restoration, service and trackside support of Honda and Acura vintage racing cars that have won some of the biggest races around the world – including the legendary endurance races at Le Mans, Sebring, and Daytona.
“Classic race cars never die, their myth and aura just grow, and the HRC Heritage Racing Programme is all about keeping our incredible Honda and Acura race cars doing what they were born to do ― race,” said David Salters, the President of HRC US.
“As the builder of these race-winning machines, and custodian of the original IP and knowledge, HRC is uniquely equipped to restore them to their original form, ensuring they can return to historic racing competition authentically and ready to be enjoyed by our customers and fans.”
And the first car up for sale through this new programme is the #26 Andretti Green Racing Acura ARX-01a, which took the LMP2 class victory in the 2007 Twelve Hours of Sebring – driven by Dario Franchitti, Bryan Herta, and Tony Kanaan. It will headline HRC’s display at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering on Friday, 14 August.
Adorned in its XM Satellite Radio livery (forerunner to today’s SiriusXM), the Acura ARX-01a was Acura’s first purpose-built endurance racing prototype for North American competition, with both the car and engine designed and developed by HRC in the United States.
“The 2007 XM Acura ARX-01a made you feel like a hero, it made you feel like the best driver in the world, you just pushed harder and harder and it just kept coming back for more,” said Franchitti. “It’s just a pleasure to drive, the 2007 XM Acura ARX-01a is a special car for anyone who was lucky enough to get to drive it, and you can’t say that for a lot of cars.”
Vehicle restoration through the HRC Heritage Racing Programme is carried out in meticulous detail, starting through each vehicle’s original homologation documents, along with notes and photographs from the original HRC engineers who were involved in each project. The work is supported by extensive archives of technical data from HRC to ensure each car and engine is restored correctly.
Each car is torn down and reassembled with new and reconditioned parts – with some updated materials in the interest of safety. Electronics are modernised, and the engines are rebuilt at HRC US’ headquarters in Santa Clarita, California. After restoration, each vehicle is thoroughly track tested, with HRC engineers available for track support and to and assisting its new would-be owner in competition.
“HRC restores these historic Honda and Acura race cars to a level enabling them to be driven and feel as original as possible, while still making some updates ― especially with regards to electronics,” said John Whiteman, HRC US Commercial Manager. “Our approach maintains the authenticity of design and driving experience of these iconic race cars and adds modifications for safety performance and to ensure they are user-friendly for their new owners.”
More than 20 iconic Honda and Acura racing vehicles will be featured at Monterey Car Week from 12–16 August, including Motorlux, The Quail, the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, and the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. These include race winners in Formula 1, IndyCar, MotoGP, IMSA, SCCA, SUPER GT, the Baja 1000, and Dakar Rally.
These include endurance racing vehicles that have been restored by HRC, leading to the successful launch of the Heritage Racing Programme.
The 2010 Strakka Racing Acura ARX-01c that won LMP2 at the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans will race at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion on Saturday, when Nick Yelloly, current star of the Acura Meyer Shank Racing GTP programme, drives the car in the Scott Pruett Legends event before the car is exhibited at Pebble Beach.
Also on display is the Acura NSX GT3, chassis number 5, wearing the striking “Lady Liberty” livery as it did when MSR drivers Andy Lally and Katherine Legge took GTD class honors in the 2017 Six Hours of the Glen.
HRC has also restored four Acura ARX-05 DPi prototypes which currently race in the Historic SportsCar Racing (HSR) Series, including a 2019 Acura Team Penske ARX-05 that will be exhibited – along with a 2001 Reynard 01i/Honda Champ Car, driven by the legendary Gil de Ferran to the 2001 CART Championship, and now owned by McLaren CEO Zak Brown.
While currently focused on the restoration of historic endurance racers, HRC US plans to expand the new Heritage Racing Programme to include more historic Honda-powered IndyCar machines in the near future.
Other historic sports cars that will be at Monterey Car Week include Comptech Racing’s Spice/Acura GTP Lights prototype that won its class at Daytona and Sebring, Team Kunimitsu’s 1996 Honda NSX GT2 from the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the Raybrig Team Kunimitsu Honda NSX-GT which won the 2018 and 2020 SUPER GT GT500 championships.
Images © Honda
