http://www.speedtv.com/article...29217/

The Honda Racing team completed its Bonneville 400 challenge on Friday morning, narrowly missing the 400kph speed record it was targeting.

Since last Tuesday, Honda and driver Alan van der Merwe had broken the FIA class world records three times, and the South African driver went even faster on his final attempt this morning. He ended with an average speed of 397.360kph (246.916mph) over two runs of the Bonneville mile.

The team had been hoping to set a record of 400kph (246mph).

“I think in general the feeling is satisfaction with what we achieved,” said van der Merwe. “It would have been nice to have a round number for the record and we are only two and half k’s off that.

“In fact, we know we did everything possible to the car; we timed it exactly right today with the weather and we’re pretty sure we couldn’t have got more out of it, possibly another kph but we would have needed freakishly good weather to do that.

“So, yeah, I’m really happy and slightly relieved as well, because it has been really stressful, every day, and we now know we have had the best day possible to run the car. And also the fact that the team did really well – the first thing to let go was the car; Altogether its been great to set the record and very rewarding to reach 400kph, its been a great week”

Bonneville 400 Technical Director Gary Savage added, “Today we went racing, this is the racing truth isn’t it? The only thing there is, is the stop watch, no excuses, no nothing, you just go for it.

“The team were fantastic they did everything on the car to get it to go quicker. We did hit 400 for one of our runs, we did 399kph for another and our average is 397kph, so it’s pretty good really.”

 

fyi.... 400km/hr = 248.5485mi/hr

 

I'd like to see Roush, Hendrick or some other NASCAR powerhouse trim out a cup car and give Bonneville a try.

 

I wonder if Gil de Ferran's "Renske/Peynard" could pass 250mph in its speedway trim. He did 241 and some change at Fontana.

 

I wonder what would happen if they put in a much smaller driver. I don't think they need a very skilled driver for these kinds of events...and popping off 20 pounds or so could be beneficial...unless there's a limited weight rule

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by azian21485 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I wonder what would happen if they put in a much smaller driver. I don't think they need a very skilled driver for these kinds of events...and popping off 20 pounds or so could be beneficial...unless there's a limited weight rule</TD></TR></TABLE>
I assumed they were running it in F1-legal trim, which would mean a minimum weight of 600kg.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by azian21485 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I wonder what would happen if they put in a much smaller driver. I don't think they need a very skilled driver for these kinds of events...and popping off 20 pounds or so could be beneficial...unless there's a limited weight rule</TD></TR></TABLE>
Weight would have a very limited on top speed I would think. At that speed it's pretty much all aerodynamics.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by azian21485 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I wonder what would happen if they put in a much smaller driver. I don't think they need a very skilled driver for these kinds of events...and popping off 20 pounds or so could be beneficial...unless there's a limited weight rule</TD></TR></TABLE>

They were going to pop in a small azian driver, Takuma Sato, but they figured even on a wide open salt flat hed find someone to crash into.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Track rat &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'd like to see Roush, Hendrick or some other NASCAR powerhouse trim out a cup car and give Bonneville a try. </TD></TR></TABLE>

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/s...49395

 

Honda F1 not living up to expectations?! Wow, who would've thought.