 |
 |
| Richie Ginther (center) and Nakamura share the joy of their first victory at the Mexican Grand Prix in October, 1965 |
|
The displacement standard for F-1 engines was scheduled to change to 3.0 liters in 1966. At Honda, a conceptual model for the new engine was finalized in the fall of 1965, after which the drafting of a detailed engine layout began. However the design engineers were wearing themselves out with many projects, and at the urgent request of Takeo Fujisawa a prioritized sequence for engine design was decided. Top priority was given to the N360, a mini automobile scheduled for launch in October 1966. The F-2 and F-1 engines were fourth and sixth on the list, respectively.
The first race of the 1966 F-2 season was called off due to heavy rain. However Honda dominated the second race, taking first and second place. What followed was an amazing string of eleven consecutive victories. Thus, taking this F-2 engine as an example, the team began the construction of a new F-1 engine with which to fight the 1966 season.
However, the team had virtually no experience in the design of 3.0-liter engines, so it was necessary to start from scratch. It was not until summer, halfway through the season, that a race-ready RA273 was completed. The engine’s output exceeded 400 horsepower, but the chassis weighed more than 700 kg. This was because too much emphasis was given to the machine’s rigidity in order to compensate for high engine output, which was almost twice that of its predecessor. This caused the machine to lag behind its rivals in overall performance.
The new engine debuted in the Italian Grand Prix on September 4, with everyone putting in his best effort to prepare the machine. Finally, it was time to move up to the starting line.
"During the one week at Monza," Okudaira remembers, "the only things that stayed at our hotel were our suitcases. We camped at the garage every night. We slept standing up, not realizing we were sleeping until we were prodded by someone."
To their disappointment, one of Honda’s machines failed to finish the race. The tires burst on the seventeenth lap due to its excessive weight and enormous power, causing it to jump the guardrail and crash into a tree. The car was completely destroyed. By the time of the subsequent U.S. Grand Prix, the machines were carrying thin-walled stainless-steel exhaust systems as a weight-reducing measure. However, Bucknam had to retire after his tailpipe cracked. Ginther could not finish, either.
The problem of weight remained a critical one, even after the race. |
