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61-574: An evolution of the company's first car to enter Formula One, the previous year's RA271 , the RA272 was noted for its technically advanced 1.5-litre V12 engine , designated the RA272E, which was the most powerful engine in the sport at the time. Besides the win in Mexico, the car also managed to qualify in the top three in four of the eight races it entered. As it was announced that the 1965 season would be

122-491: A rear-midship layout . According to Honda's official website, the engine gave 230 bhp (170 kW) between 11,500–12,000 rpm, and by the end of the season it was reportedly producing 240 bhp (180 kW). These figures were the highest of any engine in the 1.5-litre era, although the power band of the Honda engine wasn't as wide as some rivals. The engine was safe at 14,000 rpm for short periods of time, which

183-585: A cylinder head gasket in one of the Honda's twelve cylinders failed, and Bucknum was out of the race. This was to be the end of Honda's debut season, as they did not travel to the final race in Mexico City . The RA271 was replaced for 1965 by the RA272 , so its best result remains 13th place at its debut race in Germany. Its best grid place was Bucknum's 10th place at Monza. The car's permanent residence

244-429: A double points finish for the team. It was a historic moment, as it was the first ever Grand Prix victory for a Japanese car, engine, and team. It was the first of 89 Formula One wins for Honda-powered cars, and came only two years after the company started producing road cars. It was also tyre supplier Goodyear 's first Formula One win. After the race, team manager Yoshio Nakamura sent the message " Veni, vidi, vici " to

305-622: A double retirement as the cars suffered gearbox and transmission issues. Ginther qualified fourth at the next race in Belgium , and finished the race in sixth to give Honda their first points in Formula One. The next race in France ended with ignition problems for both drivers, after a best qualifying position of seventh by Ginther. At the following British Grand Prix , Ginther qualified a strong third, just 0.5 seconds off pole position, but in

366-511: A greater peak power. It was these facts that the Honda engineers intended to exploit. The car was constructed at Honda's facility in the Yaesu neighbourhood of Tokyo . Although the RA271 only contested three 1964 Grands Prix, its innovative, transversely mounted , 1.5 L (92 cu in) V12 engine —sometimes cited as " the strongest engine of F1's 1.5-litre era " —formed the basis for

427-587: A heart attack in the Chevrolet Corvette pace car at the esses during an evaluation run. The pole position speed was 83.079 mph (133.703 km/h). During qualifying for the 1997 race, rain caused Goodyear to use rain tires on Winston Cup cars for the first time in the modern era. It was announced on June 21, 2010, that the east section of the Suzuka Circuit would host the Japan round of

488-560: A poor start left him down in 16th, he quickly climbed through the field and ran as high as 7th before a brake failure forced him out of the race on lap 13. His ability to keep pace with the works BRM and Brabham cars in this race gave great hope for the future of Honda in F1. The next race was the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen . As there were only 19 entrants, there was no threat of failing to qualify, and Bucknum

549-516: A race. The chief engineer on the project was Yoshio Nakamura , with Tadashi Kume in charge of engine development. It was driven in three races during 1964 by American driver Ronnie Bucknum . The car was developed from the company's 1963 prototype, retrospectively designated RA270 . It was developed around Honda's revolutionary F1 engine, a 1.5 L V12 , at a time when V8s dominated the F1 paddock, as constructed by BRM , Climax , Ferrari and ATS . The only other major manufacturer deviating from

610-650: A racing car made before 2008. The RA272 appeared in the Formula One Championship Edition video game as an unlockable bonus car. It also serves as the design influence for the B Dasher kart in the Mario Kart series. It was also introduced in Gran Turismo 7 as part of the 1.29 update. ( key ) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Honda RA271 The Honda RA271 was Honda 's first Formula One racing car to enter

671-677: A re-opening day on April 12, 2009. Suzuka also hosts other motorsport events including the Suzuka 1000 km endurance race. Previously a part of multiple GT racing series including the now defunct group C class of the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship , the Suzuka 1000 km as of 2006 is now a points round of the Super GT Series, and is the only race of such length in that series. In 2010 ,

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732-531: A recovery vehicle, and died in hospital as a result nine months later. In the wake of the accident, the Dunlop corner was slightly changed and revised in safety standards, and the organisers of the Japanese Grand Prix installed a large crane in place of the tractor that Bianchi hit. Suzuka, openly touted by F1 drivers and fans as one of the most enjoyed, is also one of the oldest remaining tracks of

793-504: A red rising sun on the cowling, really marking Honda out as representatives of Japan. This bodywork covered the RA271's suspension, another feature pioneered by Chapman, this time on his Lotus 21 design. By 1964, Brabham were the only major competitor persisting with outboard suspension. Somewhat unusually, the RA271's front and rear suspension set-ups were identical. These consisted of a double wishbone set-up with inboard coilover spring and damper units. A double wishbone front set-up

854-493: A tribute to the RA272. The RA272 was inducted into the Japanese Automobile Hall of Fame in 2020, who called it "a historical car that made the world know the high level of Japanese technology". Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti drove the RA272 in 2011, after which he remarked that it "probably has the best sound of any car I've driven or heard, and that's saying a lot. That's special." At

915-515: A tubular rear subframe was employed to aid repair and maintenance. These combined left a car weighing around 525 kg, significantly over the minimum weight limit (450 kg). Its larger engine also meant it was significantly heavier than most of its rivals; the Ferrari 158 weighed just 468 kg. When it was presented to the public, the RA271 was liveried in what was to become Honda's traditional racing colours: ivory coloured bodywork with

976-505: Is a 5.807 km (3.608 mi) long motorsport race track located in Ino, Suzuka City , Mie Prefecture , Japan and operated by Honda Mobilityland , a subsidiary of Honda Motor Co, Ltd . It has a capacity of 155,000. Soichiro Honda decided to develop a new permanent circuit in Mie prefecture in the late 1950s. Designed as a Honda test track in 1962 by Dutchman John "Hans" Hugenholtz ,

1037-565: Is the Honda Collection Hall at the Twin Ring Motegi , but it has left there several times. It formed part of the Honda display at the 2006 Geneva Motor Show , along with two other F1 cars: the 1965 RA272 and the 2006 RA106 . ( key ) Suzuka Circuit The Suzuka International Racing Course ( 鈴鹿国際レーシングコース , Suzuka Kokusai Rēsingu Kōsu ) , a.k.a. “Suzuka Circuit” ( 鈴鹿サーキット , Suzuka Sākitto ) ,

1098-610: The Namco Museum versions of the game as the "Wonder Circuit" ("Orange Circuit" in Namco Museum: Virtual Arcade ), after Namco's "Wonder" series of amusement parks, despite its logo appearing on the starter's box since 1983. The Suzuka Circuit is also featured in the Final Lap series of games which first appeared in 1987. Another Namco racing game, Suzuka 8 Hours , based on the motorcycle race of

1159-508: The 2011 WTCC season instead of the Okayama International Circuit . At the 2012 event, the pole position time was 52.885 seconds, for an average speed of 94.875 mph (152.687 km/h). Following two major accidents in 2002 and 2003, one of the main issues in safety has been at the corner 130R (marked 15 in the track map above). In 2002, Toyota F1 driver Allan McNish suffered a high-speed crash through

1220-413: The 2019 Japanese Grand Prix . The unofficial all-time track record is 1:27.064, set by Sebastian Vettel during the qualifying for the aforementioned 2019 race. As of July 2024, the fastest official race lap records at the Suzuka Circuit are listed as: Along with Fuji Speedway , the Suzuka Circuit was one of the four tracks featured in the video game Pole Position II . The track is referred to in

1281-600: The 2021 Turkish Grand Prix Formula One race – the replacement for the Japanese Grand Prix that was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic that year – the Red Bull - Honda team ran a livery inspired by the RA272 on their RB16B cars as a homage Honda's Japanese fans. Two years earlier, the team's driver Max Verstappen tested the RA272 during the week of the Japanese Grand Prix, the first time he had driven

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1342-500: The Formula One World Championship, and has a long history of races as venue of the Japanese Grand Prix since 1987. Its traditional role as one of the last Grands Prix of the season means numerous world championships have been decided at the track. Four years consecutively in its early history the circuit saw the world championship decided. These include the 1988 championship, which went to Ayrton Senna ,

1403-592: The NASCAR Thunder 100 , a pair of exhibition 100-lap races on the east circuit, a 1.4 mi (2.3 km) layout which utilizes the pit straight and esses, before rejoining the main circuit near the Casio triangle. The cars were Sprint Cup Series and Camping World West Series cars and the field was by invitation for the two races, run after the 1996 and 1997 seasons. The 1996 event was marred by tragedy when during practice, pace car driver Elmo Langley died of

1464-581: The 130R. Following the death of Daijiro Kato at the 2003 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix , Suzuka reconfigured the motorcycle variant of what is now known as the Hitachi Automotive Systems Chicane before the final turn, and added a second chicane, between the hairpin and 200R. The circuit can be used in five configurations; the car full circuit, the motorcycle full circuit, the "Suzuka east," "Suzuka west car," and "Suzuka west motorcycle" configurations. The "east" portion of

1525-573: The GT500 pole position time was 1:55.237. In 2007 , the GT300 pole position time was 2:06.838. Another major motorsport event is the Suzuka 8 Hours for motorcycles, which has been run since 1978. This event usually attracts big name riders and with the exception of 2005, due to the importance of the major manufacturers' involvement, the FIM ensures that no motorcycle races clash on the date. NASCAR organized

1586-455: The Honda headquarters in Tokyo. The Honda RA272E V12 had strong acceleration and often led the race into the opening lap after leaving the stationary starting grid. Despite not participating in every race, Honda finished their second season in Formula One sixth in the constructors' championship. Honda's Type R cars traditionally have a Championship White paint option and a red Honda badge as

1647-678: The Honda's race-winning RA272 which allowed Richie Ginther to win the Mexican Grand Prix the following year . The RA271 was constructed with an aluminium monocoque , a design pioneered by Colin Chapman and his Lotus team two years earlier and in use on his Lotus 25 and 33 models, which won world championships for Jim Clark in 1963 and 1965 . This was still a fairly unusual concept, however, with other leading cars such as Brabham 's BT11 and Ferrari 's 156 F1 using an old fashioned tubular spaceframe set-up. However,

1708-521: The Japanese Grand Prix from 2009. However, after Fuji announced in July 2009 that it would no longer be part of the F1 calendar, Suzuka signed a deal to host the Japanese Grand Prix in 2009 , 2010 and 2011 . The circuit closed for a year for renovations to make it F1-compliant for 2009, with the last major event held on November 18, 2007, although some annual events (for instance, the Suzuka 8 Hours and Suzuka 1000 km ) were still held. The track held

1769-522: The Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix). In 2002, the chicane was slightly modified, 130R (marked as 15 on the diagram) was also modified and some of the snake curves were made a bit straighter and faster; additionally, the runoff area at the Dunlop Curve was doubled from 12 metres to 25 metres, and the corner itself was made slightly tighter. In 2003, the chicane was made slightly faster and closer to

1830-500: The RA270 prototype and was designed around the new Honda V12 engine , which was revolutionary in the sport at the time. The regulations at the time stipulated a 1.5 L engine without supercharger , and the standard way of achieving this was using a V8 . The Honda engineers, however, decided to use a V12 instead. In engineering terms, more cylinders generally allow smaller and lighter moving parts, higher rotational speeds and thus

1891-453: The body, which made the car very distinctive as opposed to the 'four-into-one' layout preferred by the V8 teams. The engine was water-cooled with nose-mounted radiators. The engine dimensions of the 1965 48-valve V12 were 58.1 x 47.0 mm, 1,495.28 cc. Power output of 230 bhp (170 kW) @ 13,000 rpm was quoted—this was the most powerful F1 engine of 1965. The engine

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1952-410: The bump, which sent him through a metal fence; he was not seriously injured. Track officials revised the 130R, redesigning it as a double-apex section, one with an 85 m (93 yd) radius, and then a second featuring a 340 m (370 yd) radius, leading to a much closer Casio triangle (chicane), with the chicane becoming a "bus stop" type for motorcycles. However, the problem continued for

2013-508: The controversial 1989 championship, which went to Alain Prost , and the 1990 and 1991 world championships, which both went to Senna. Suzuka was dropped from the Formula One calendar for the 2007 and 2008 seasons in favour of the Toyota -owned Fuji Speedway , after the latter underwent a transformation and redesign by circuit designer Hermann Tilke . Suzuka and Fuji were to alternate hosting

2074-530: The course consists of the pit straight to the first half of the Dunlop curve (turn seven), before leading back to the pit straight via a tight right-hander. The "west" course is made up of the other part of the full circuit, including the crossover bridge; the straight leading to the overpass is used for the start/finish line and the grid. The chicane between the hairpin and 200R separates the west and full course sections between cars and motorcycles. The Degner curve

2135-569: The final race in Taito's racing game Continental Circus . The east course was featured in NASCAR 98 . Suzuka's Ferris wheel was paid homage in the "Big Forest Track" in Virtua Racing . The track has been modded into Mario Kart Wii . Project CARS and Project CARS 2 have a Japanese circuit inspired by Suzuka, called Sakitto Circuit . Sakitto has numerous visual differences from

2196-514: The first corner was made slightly slower. In 1987 the circuit was brought up to F1 and Grand Prix motorcycle standards for both Japanese Grands Prix of their respective championships, the F1 Grand Prix being the first held at Suzuka. The Degner curve was made into two corners instead of one long curve, and more crash barriers , more run-off areas were added, exposed vegetation was barricaded off and straw bales were removed (but still used for

2257-469: The iconic Autodromo Nazionale Monza . Bucknum's qualifying was greatly improved as he qualified 10th, ahead of the Brabham of double world champion Jack Brabham and comfortably clear of the mark required to qualify for the race as one of the 20 fastest drivers. He was only three seconds shy of Surtees, who was the pole sitter once again, and this marked a huge improvement for the Japanese team. Although

2318-447: The last curve to slow the cars into the pit straight; the original circuit was an incredibly fast track with only one slow corner; without the Casio chicane some cars would go through the final long right-hand corner flat out and then would go past the pits at more than 200 mph (320 km/h). In 1984 the first part of Spoon was made slightly slower and the corner was brought closer to the track to expand run-off area there, and in 1985

2379-399: The last for the 1.5-litre engines and new 3.0-litre regulations would come into effect in 1966 , Honda decided to improve the previous year's RA271 model rather than develop a completely new car. The RA271's successor was named the RA272, and key areas on which its development was focused on included improving the engine's power output, decreasing weight and improving reliability. The "RA" in

2440-537: The lead and held off his opponents, some of whom ran into car trouble: Clark retired with engine issues on lap nine, while Jack Brabham and BRM 's Graham Hill encountered engine-related issues towards the end of the race. The RA272 ran without issues, and Ginther ultimately led all 65 laps to beat second-placed Gurney to the Grand Prix win. Bucknum finished fifth, ahead of the Ferraris and other cars, to make it

2501-475: The most iconic feature of the track is its "figure eight" layout, with the 1.2 km (0.75 mi) long back straight passing over the front section by means of an overpass . It is the only FIA Grade 1 licensed track to have a "figure eight" layout, after the Fiorano Circuit was downgraded to Grade 2 in 2024. The circuit has been modified at least eight times: In 1983 a chicane was inserted at

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2562-442: The name stands for Racing Automobile , "270" is said to come from an ultimate power target of 270 hp or a top speed of around 270 km/h, and the final digit "2" denotes that it is the company's second Formula One car. The car's engine, designated RA272E, was a technically advanced (though rather wide and heavy) 48-valve 1,495.28 cc V12 engine (58.1 x 47.0 mm), which was water-cooled and transversely mounted in

2623-408: The new revised section. During the 2003 MotoGP Grand Prix of Japan , the track's first major event since the revisions, MotoGP rider Daijiro Kato was killed when he crashed in the new section, on his way to the braking zone for the Casio triangle. MotoGP has not returned to Suzuka since the incident. The official lap record for the current circuit layout is 1:30.983, set by Lewis Hamilton during

2684-475: The next race in Italy with the updated cars. The race saw Bucknum return to the grid, as he had missed two races due to suffering a broken leg in a testing accident at Honda's Suzuka Circuit in Japan. He qualified sixth for the race – ahead of Ginther – but both cars retired from the race with ignition problems. Ginther qualified third in the United States Grand Prix , only 0.15 seconds away from pole, and finished

2745-540: The project, a six-speed sequential shift box. The car was initially entered for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps , but the car was not ready in time. The car actually competed for the first time at the German Grand Prix at the beginning of August. As well as Honda's F1 debut, this race was also the debut for their American driver Ronnie Bucknum , and to make things even trickier

2806-478: The race he spun the car before injection issues caused a retirement. Ginther again qualified third at the Dutch Grand Prix , this time within three tenths of pole. He shot into the lead for the first two laps, but then spun twice, eventually finishing sixth to score more points. The team didn't participate in the German Grand Prix as they were developing an updated version of the car, but returned for

2867-428: The race in seventh. The following Mexican Grand Prix , held at high altitude in Mexico City , was the last race of the season and the final race of the 1,500 cc era that began in 1961. Ginther once again qualified third, alongside Lotus ' Jim Clark and Brabham 's Dan Gurney in the top three, and immediately managed to pass both Clark and Gurney for the lead at the start of the race. Ginther continued to maintain

2928-468: The race took place on the daunting Nürburgring circuit, widely considered to be one of the most demanding in the world. Of the 24 entrants, only the fastest 22 would qualify. Bucknum was lucky to qualify as he ended the practice sessions third-slowest. The two non-qualifiers were the Scirocco - Climax of Belgian driver André Pilette , which was hopelessly off the pace, and Carel Godin de Beaufort , who

2989-605: The race, ahead of many of the independent Lotus and BRM entrants. Despite a spin late in the race, allowing Richie Ginther 's BRM to pass him, the reliability of the Honda allowed him to finish 13th as many of his rivals broke down (or crashed in Peter Revson 's case), four laps behind winner Surtees. The team then missed the Austrian Grand Prix before returning for the Italian Grand Prix at

3050-540: The received V8 wisdom were Ferrari, who experimented with both V6 and flat-12 layouts, although they ultimately elected to stick with their V8. No other manufacturers were running V12s at the time. The RA271 made its race debut during the 1964 Formula One season , just one year after Honda started producing road cars, and was the first Japanese -built car ever to enter a round of the FIA Formula One World Championship. Only one RA271

3111-401: The same facility as the car, useful for design purposes. This was an advantage for teams such as Honda, Ferrari and Porsche , who built their engines in house, as opposed to others such as Brabham and Lotus , who bought theirs in from outside. The RA271E was a normally aspirated unit with twelve cylinders in a 'V' formation. The design featured twelve separate exhausts, six on each side of

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3172-563: The same name was released for arcades in 1992, followed by a port for the Super NES in 1993. It can also be seen in arcade games and video games such as Ferrari F355 Challenge , Super Monaco GP , Forza series, Gran Turismo series, RaceRoom , iRacing , R: Racing Evolution , Shift 2 Unleashed , Le Mans 24 Hours , The Cycles , MotoGP 3 of PlayStation 2 , MotoGP 4 , Tourist Trophy , Auto Modellista , Racing Battle: C1 Grand Prix , Real Racing 3 , and as

3233-505: The weight down to 498 kg, 27 kg less than the RA271. The aerodynamics of the RA272 were also more refined compared to the RA271. At the eighth round of the season in Italy, Honda introduced an updated version of the RA272 called the "RA272 Kai ". This version had a lower centre of gravity , as the engine mount position was lowered by 100 mm and the engine's forward lean angle was increased from 12.5 degrees to 25 degrees. Cooling

3294-478: Was also improved in the update with redesigned bodywork. For their second season in 1965 , Honda signed Richie Ginther to drive alongside fellow American Ronnie Bucknum . In contrast to the inexperienced Bucknum, Ginther had scored multiple podium finishes and gained a reputation for being a great test and development driver. The car made its debut at the second round of the season in Monaco . The race ended in

3355-506: Was built. The car is currently on display in the Honda Collection Hall at the Twin Ring Motegi in Japan. The RA271 was created by Japanese development engineer Yoshio Nakamura, who had been with Honda since 1958 and had already worked as development project manager on the RA270 F1 prototype the previous year and the S360 sports car project, which was launched in 1962. The car was based on

3416-453: Was fairly common, but the only other team using it on the rear was BRM for their P261 chassis, although this rear suspension was outboard. The car ran on 13" Dunlop alloys both front and rear, with disc brakes also manufactured by Dunlop. The rear brakes were three sixteenths of an inch (5 mm) larger than the fronts. Honda's F1 engine, the RA271E, was designed by Tadashi Kume and built in

3477-402: Was killed during the session in a tragic accident at the wheel of his privately entered Porsche 718 . Bucknum was some 20 seconds slower than the next slowest competitor, Giancarlo Baghetti at the wheel of a BRM , and almost a minute off the pole time of John Surtees 's Ferrari . Despite a poor qualifying, Bucknum had a better race and consistently ran just outside the top ten throughout

3538-451: Was named in honour of Ernst Degner after he crashed his factory Suzuki 50 there during Suzuka's inaugural All Japan Championship Road Race meeting on 3 November 1962. The hairpin (turn 11) was coined 'Kobayashi Corner' after Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi passed five drivers with aggressive moves at the 2010 Japanese Grand Prix . At the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix , F1 driver Jules Bianchi suffered serious injuries after colliding with

3599-547: Was safe to 14,000 rpm. Since the 1967 4-cylinder 498.57 cc engine (57.5 x 48.0 mm) eventually gave almost 90 bhp (67 kW) at 12,600 rpm, the V12 had the potential of 270 bhp (200 kW) with further development. It used 12 Keihin carburetors, one for each cylinder, later to be replaced by low-pressure fuel injection before entry into the Italian GP. Honda also built their own gearbox for

3660-405: Was unusually high for a 1960s engine design. The V12 layout was unusual in the sport at the time, with most other manufacturers using V8 engines . The RA271 weighed 525 kilograms, which was 75 kg higher than the minimum weight specified in the rules. To reduce this disadvantage, structural materials of the engine were changed and light alloys were used in the monocoque of the RA272, bringing

3721-484: Was well within three seconds of Jim Clark 's pole time for Lotus. The high quality of the field, however, meant that he was down in 14th place, although he did outqualify 1961 world champion Phil Hill , now driving for Cooper . He once again ran the race just outside the top ten, fighting for long periods with the Lotuses of Walt Hansgen (works) and Mike Hailwood ( RPR ) and Richie Ginther 's BRM. However, on lap 51

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