Sixth consecutive win for Honda at Indy 500. 65 000 km trouble-free racing kilometres. 100 percent reliability record for Honda V8 engine
Honda power ruled supreme as the 100th Indianapolis 500 climaxed with a final lap straight out of a scriptwriter’s fantasy book.
While Dan Wheldon’s victory stunned the 200 000-strong crowd, the fact that his Herta Autosport Dallara was powered by Honda came as no surprise: the marque has been the sole engine supplier to the IZOD IndyCar Series for the past six years, and propelled the Indycar 500-winning car for the sixth consecutive time.
While always in contention, Wheldon seemed set for second place as race leader JR Hildebrand streaked towards the finish line on the final lap in a seemingly unassailable lead. However, an error of judgment on the final corner put the rookie into the wall, handing the win to Wheldon.
Despite the substantial damage to his Panther Racing Dallara, Hildebrand carried enough momentum to slide across the famous brick-lined finish line in second, with Graham Rahal bringing his Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara home in third.
While the victory was a sweet one for the British racer, it marked yet another achievement for the Honda V8 used by the entire 33-strong field of cars.
Only 25 cars eventually finished the famous race, but none of the eight non-finishers retired due to engine failure, again proving the reliability and engineering excellence of the Honda power unit.
That track record is put into even sharper perspective by the fact that drivers at this year’s Indy 500 logged a total of 65 428 km during the two weeks of practice, qualifying and racing without the loss of a single Honda V8 engine.
The 2011 season will be the last featuring Honda as sole engine supplier to the series. Next year, open competition will return to IndyCar when a new V6 engine regulation takes effect.
But Honda is confident that six seasons with zero engine failures will place it in a strong position to continue its winning form under the new rules.
Designed at Honda Performance Development’s Santa Clarita, California, facility, the all-new Indy V6 is already under development, with initial track testing scheduled to start in August. In addition, Honda has announced that Chip Ganassi Racing will be its anchor team in the IZOD IndyCar Series for 2012.
American Honda and its Honda Performance Development (HPD) subsidiary will power all IZOD IndyCar Series entries fielded by Chip Ganassi Racing. HPD will supply its new, turbocharged 2,2-liter V6 engines to the Ganassi open-wheel operation.
The Ganassi organization was one of Honda’s first partners when the marque won its first Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) Manufacturers’ Championship in 1996; and Ganassi driver Jimmy Vasser won Honda’s first CART drivers’ title.
Since then, multiple race victories and series championships have followed for Honda and Ganassi in both CART and IndyCar Series competition.
Honda has been a fixture in North American open-wheel racing since 1994, and has played an active role in the growth of the IZOD IndyCar Series – as both a Manufacturers' Championship competitor and single engine supplier – since joining the series in 2003.
The company scored its first Indianapolis 500 victory in 2004 with Buddy Rice; Manufacturers' Championships in 2004 and 2005; and became engine supplier to the entire IZOD IndyCar Series in 2006.
