This Honda ‘Type CR-V’ Went Racing
This one-off ‘Type CR-V’ race car was built for a very special 12-hour endurance race in the UK.
If a CR-V doesn’t strike you as an obvious candidate for a race car, then you’re not alone. To top it off, the ‘Type CR-V’ in this video is also powered by a diesel engine.
It was built by a British racing charity called Mission Motorsport. They help injured former servicemen and women by using motorsport as a recovery activity. Their aim is to merge the activities of the disabled and those in need with able-bodied people. Founder and CEO, James Cameron, points out that there is no Paralympic type category in motorsport, and the vehicle is adapted instead of the sport itself. That leads to a level playing field for the disabled veterans to compete with and against the able-bodied.
They couldn’t use a Type R for the race because it’s only available as a manual. The reason they ended up using a CR-V was down to Mission Motorsports heavy involvement with Honda. They had major input into designing the feel of the CVT transmission and had a CR-V as a result. This was a last minute build so in the traditional spirit of British motorsport they turned the thing they had on hand into a race car.
Weight saving was first, so the interior is swapped for a full roll cage. The panoramic glass roof is replaced with much lighter plexiglass because they don’t want the car to fall over, and a light bar is installed in the front grill as part of the race is run in the dark. The ride height is much lower than stock, so the team fabricated new camber control arms, suspension uprights and put on prototype Type-R brakes to boot.
The Race Of Remembrance:
The Race of Remembrance is now in it’s 4th year. It’s a 12-hour endurance race run over two days and set up to commemorate the sacrifices made by service personnel and their families. It coincides with Remembrance Sunday and on that day the race pauses for a special remembrance service.
Motoring journalist Alex Goy was on the driving team. He describes the car as handling very well even with the automatic “shlush-box”. The team also had some excellent drivers and managed to pull sub 2-minute laps of the Anglesey circuit. Ultimately, they finished the race third in their class and embarrassed a few other cars in the process.
