Honda 1964 RA272 F1 Car to Lap Laguna Seca Historic Races

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American Honda Motor said today that to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of its first F1 Race Entry that during Monterey Car Week on August 14-17the RA272 racer will lap the Laguna Seca Historic Races. Today is the 60th anniversary of Honda’s F1 debut at the 1964 German Grand Prix. The V12-powered Honda RA272 first won at the 1965 Mexico Grand Prix in November as the first race car from a Japanese automaker to win a Formula 1 race. Los Angeles born driver Richie Ginther was at the wheel. Powered by a transverse-mounted 1.5-liter V12 engine capable of 13,000 rpm, RA272 ran most recently at the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2024 (July 11-14) piloted by Miyagi-san and current F1 race driver Yuki Tsunoda. (read AutoInformed.com on: Honda Racing has a New UK Formula One Base)

“Soichiro Honda, a former racer himself, believed in competition as a means to improve his company, its engineers and its products. A key example of the Honda ‘Challenging Spirit’ in action, racing is ingrained in the corporate culture of Honda, more than any other automaker. Throughout its history, on two wheels and four, Honda has raced and won at the highest levels of motorsports all over the world,” Honda said in a press release.

Honda engines have powered four drivers to a combined eight Formula One Drivers’ Championships. Engines created by Honda have twice set F1 records for the most race wins in a season, including a historic 2023 season, with Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez winning all but one race in dominant fashion. This beat the previous win-rate record set by McLaren Honda in 1988 with drivers Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. As this run went on and on veteran racing journalist Chris Economaki said into an open mike during ABC’s Wide World of Sports coverage that “I have seen better racing in a Cornfield in Iowa on Saturday night.”  ABC fired him. When I caught up with him later in the press room of the New York Auto Show I said, “sorry to hear about your ABC gig,”  Chris said, “They bought my voice, not my mind.” The lack of competition for the past couple of season in F1 has been well noted by others – but not as succinctly as Chris did.

Honda heritage test driver Hikaru Miyagi will be behind the wheel at Laguna Seca. Yesterday, the “Friends of Laguna Seca” group has officially taken over Laguna Seca for the next 55 years after a long, complex and litigious bidding process. It promises to bring the track up to modern racing standards. Monterey County owns the track.