Honda RA301

Last updated

Honda RA301
Honda RA301 1968 Mexico Honda Collection Hall.jpg
Category Formula One
Constructor Honda R&D
Designer(s) Yoshio Nakamura (Honda),
Shoichi Sano (Honda),
Derrick White (Lola Cars)
Predecessor RA300
Successor RA302 / RA106
Technical specifications
Chassis Aluminium monocoque
Suspension (front) Double-wishbone
Suspension (rear)Double-wishbone
Axle track Front: 56.7 in (144.0 cm) [1]
Rear: 55.1 in (140 cm) [1]
Wheelbase 94.8 in (240.8 cm) [1]
Engine Honda RA273E 2,991 cc (182.5 cu in) V12 naturally aspirated mid-engined, longitudinally-mounted
Transmission Honda 5-speed manual
Fuel BP/Shell
Tyres Firestone
Competition history
Notable entrants Honda Racing
Notable drivers Flag of the United Kingdom.svg John Surtees
Debut 1968 Spanish Grand Prix,
Jarama
RacesWins Poles F/Laps
11011
Constructors' Championships0
Drivers' Championships0
n.b. Unless otherwise stated, all data refer to
Formula One World Championship Grands Prix only.

The Honda RA301 was a Formula One racing car produced by Honda Racing for the 1968 Formula One season. [2] It was introduced during the 1968 Spanish Grand Prix, the second round of the season. Like its predecessor (RA300), the car was co-developed by Lola Cars, and called "Lola T180" by Lola Cars.

The car was an update of the previous season's RA300, using the same RA273E engine. As Honda was also focused on developing the air-cooled RA302, the RA301's development suffered and Surtees only managed a best of second place in the France. Poor reliability saw him managing to finish just two other races.

The car was planned to be replaced by the RA302 at the 1968 French Grand Prix, but Surtees refused to drive the new car because of safety concerns. After the death of Jo Schlesser at that race, Surtees again refused to drive the RA302 at the 1968 Italian Grand Prix, and the RA301 was used until the end of the season.

With Honda's withdrawal from Formula One at the end of the season, the RA301 was the last F1 car raced by Honda until the 2006 Formula One season's Honda RA106.

Surtees driving the RA301 at the 1968 German Grand Prix Honda RA 301, John Surtees, 1968-08-04.jpg
Surtees driving the RA301 at the 1968 German Grand Prix

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

YearEntrantEngineTyresDrivers123456789101112PointsWCC
1968 Honda Racing Honda 3.0 V12 F RSA ESP MON BEL NED FRA GBR GER ITA CAN USA MEX 146th
John Surtees RetRetRetRet25RetRetRet3Ret
David Hobbs Ret
Joakim Bonnier Racing Team Jo Bonnier 5
Source: [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Surtees</span> British motorcycle and automobile racer

John Surtees, was a British Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver. On his way to become a seven-time Grand Prix motorcycle World Champion, he won his first title in 1956, and followed with three consecutive doubles between 1958 and 1960, winning six World Championships in both the 500 and 350cc classes. Surtees then made the move to the pinnacle of Motorsport, the Formula 1 World Championship, and in 1964 made motor racing history by becoming the F1 World Champion. To this day Surtees remains the only person to have won World Championships on both two and four wheels. He founded the Surtees Racing Organisation team that competed as a constructor in Formula One, Formula 2 and Formula 5000 from 1970 to 1978. He was also the ambassador of the Racing Steps Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Jones (racing driver)</span> Australian racing driver and journalist

Alan Stanley Jones, is an Australian former Formula One driver. He was the first driver to win a Formula One World Championship with the Williams team, becoming the 1980 World Drivers' Champion and the second Australian to do so following triple World Champion Sir Jack Brabham. He competed in a total of 117 Grands Prix, winning 12 and achieving 24 podium finishes. In 1978 Jones won the Can-Am championship driving a Lola.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cooper Car Company</span> Auto racing team

The Cooper Car Company is a British car manufacturer founded in December 1947 by Charles Cooper and his son John Cooper. Together with John's boyhood friend, Eric Brandon, they began by building racing cars in Charles's small garage in Surbiton, Surrey, England, in 1946. Through the 1950s and early 1960s they reached motor racing's highest levels as their mid-engined, single-seat cars competed in both Formula One and the Indianapolis 500, and their Mini Cooper dominated rally racing. The Cooper name lives on in the Cooper versions of the Mini production cars that are built in England, but is now owned and marketed by BMW.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Amon</span> New Zealand racing driver (1943–2016)

Christopher Arthur Amon was a New Zealand motor racing driver. He was active in Formula One racing in the 1960s and 1970s, and is widely regarded as one of the best F1 drivers never to win a championship Grand Prix. His reputation for bad luck was such that fellow driver Mario Andretti once joked that "if he became an undertaker, people would stop dying". Former Ferrari Technical Director Mauro Forghieri stated that Amon was "by far the best test driver I have ever worked with. He had all the qualities to be a World Champion but bad luck just wouldn't let him be".

Lola Cars International Ltd. was a British race car engineering company in operation from 1958 to 2012. The company was founded by Eric Broadley in Bromley, England, before moving to new premises in Slough, Buckinghamshire and finally Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, and endured for more than fifty years to become one of the oldest and largest manufacturers of racing cars in the world. Lola Cars started by building small front-engined sports cars, and branched out into Formula Junior cars before diversifying into a wider range of sporting vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">René Arnoux</span> French racing driver

René Alexandre Arnoux is a French former racing driver who competed in 12 Formula One seasons. He participated in 165 World Championship Grands Prix winning seven of them, achieving 22 podium finishes and scoring 181 career points. His best finish in the World Drivers' Championship was third in 1983 for Ferrari. In 1977, Arnoux won the European Formula Two Championship. In 2006 he raced in the inaugural season of the Grand Prix Masters series for retired F1 drivers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1968 French Grand Prix</span> Motor car race

The 1968 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Rouen-Les-Essarts Circuit on 7 July 1968. It was race 6 of 12 in both the 1968 World Championship of Drivers and the 1968 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The 60-lap race was won by Ferrari driver Jacky Ickx after he started from third position. John Surtees finished second for the Honda team and Matra driver Jackie Stewart came in third.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1968 Italian Grand Prix</span> Motor car race

The 1968 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Monza Autodrome on 8 September 1968. It was race 9 of 12 in both the 1968 World Championship of Drivers and the 1968 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The 68-lap race was won by McLaren driver Denny Hulme after he started from seventh position. Johnny Servoz-Gavin finished second for the Matra team and Ferrari driver Jacky Ickx came in third.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1968 Formula One season</span> 22nd season of the FIAs Formula One motor racing

The 1968 Formula One season was the 22nd season of the FIA's Formula One motor racing. It featured the 19th FIA World Championship, which commenced on 1 January, and ended on 3 November after twelve races, and numerous non-championship races. Graham Hill won the second of his World Championship titles, with Lotus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henri Pescarolo</span> French racecar driver and team owner

Henri Jacques William Pescarolo is a former racing driver from France. He competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans a record 33 times, winning on four occasions, and won a number of other major sports car events including the 24 Hours of Daytona. He also participated in 64 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, achieving one podium and 12 championship points. Pescarolo also drove in the Dakar Rally in the 1990s, before retiring from racing at the age of 57. In 2000 he set up his eponymous racing team, Pescarolo Sport, which competed in Le Mans until 2013. He wore a distinctive green helmet, and wears a full-face beard that partially covers burns suffered in a crash.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jo Schlesser</span>

Joseph Schlesser was a French Formula One and sports car racing driver. He participated in three World Championship Grands Prix, including the 1968 French Grand Prix in which he was killed. He scored no championship points. He was the uncle of Jean-Louis Schlesser who himself became a Formula One driver in the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mugen Motorsports</span> Japanese automotive tuning company

Mugen Motorsports (無限), legally known as M-TEC Company, Ltd., is a Japanese company formed in 1973 by Hirotoshi Honda, the son of Honda Motor Company founder Soichiro Honda, and Masao Kimura. Mugen, meaning "without limit", "unlimited" or "vast", is an engine tuner and parts manufacturer that manufactures OEM parts such as body kits and sports exhausts for Honda. Despite the family relationship, however, Mugen is not, and has never been, owned by Honda Motor Company; Mugen owner Hirotoshi Honda has been the biggest shareholder in Honda since his father's death in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Honda RA272</span> Formula One racing car

The Honda RA272 was a Formula One racing car designed by Yoshio Nakamura and Shoichi Sano for the 1965 Formula One season. It was the first Japanese car to win in Formula One, achieving victory at the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix after leading every lap with driver Richie Ginther. The win came just two years after Honda started producing road cars, and was the first of 89 victories for Honda-powered Formula One cars.

The Japanese automobile manufacturer Honda has participated in Formula One, as an engine manufacturer and team owner, for various periods since 1964. Honda's involvement in Formula One began with the 1964 season, and in 1965 they achieved their first victory at the Mexican Grand Prix. After further success with John Surtees, Honda withdrew at the end of the 1968 season due to difficulties selling road cars in the United States and Honda driver Jo Schlesser's fatal accident.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Honda RA300</span>

The Honda RA300 was a Formula One racing car produced by Honda Racing, and introduced towards the end of the 1967 Formula One season. It retained the same V12 engine as the preceding RA273 car, but the chassis was designed by Lola's Eric Broadley and based on a previous Lola Indianapolis 500 car, the T90. Internally, Lola designated the RA300 the T130. This collaboration resulted in the machine quickly being dubbed the "Hondola" by the motorsports press.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ferrari 158</span>

The Ferrari 158 was a Formula One racing car made by Ferrari in 1964 as a successor to the V6-powered Ferrari 156 F1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ecurie Bonnier</span> Motor racing team

Ecurie Bonnier, Ecurie Suisse, Joakim Bonnier Racing Team and Anglo-Suisse Racing Team were names used by Swedish racing driver Joakim Bonnier to enter his own cars in Formula One, Formula Two and sports car racing between 1957 and his death in 1972. Commonly the vehicles were entered for Bonnier himself, but he also provided cars for a number of other drivers during the period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Honda RA302</span> Formula One racing car made by Honda

The Honda RA302 was a Formula One racing car produced by Honda Racing, and introduced by Honda Racing France during the 1968 Formula One season. The car was built based on an order by Soichiro Honda to develop an air-cooled Formula One engine. The magnesium-skinned car was entered in the Formula One race alongside the water-cooled, aluminium-bodied RA301 which had been developed by the existing Honda team and British Lola Cars.

Honda has been competing in a variety of racing series through the years, including Formula One, IndyCar, touring car racing, sports car racing and MotoGP. Currently they are involved in Formula One, MotoGP, Super GT, Super Formula, IndyCar, IMSA, BTCC, TC2000, Formula 3, Formula 4, off-road, WSBK, EWC, MXGP, TrialGP and various different GT3 and TCR series.

The Surtees TS5 was a Formula 5000 racing car, designed, developed, and built by Surtees between 1969 and 1970.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Taylor, Roger (September 1968). "Honda RA301". Model Cars. Model & Allied Publications. p. 427.
  2. "Honda Global | 2016". Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  3. Small, Steve (1994). The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who's Who. Guinness. pp. 70, 190 and 370–71. ISBN   0851127029.