 |
 |
| Mechanics adjusting the 3.0-liter engine before the Italian Grand Prix in September, 1966. (Photo courtesy of Teijiro Hagita) |
|
Honda decided to temporarily withdraw from motorcycle and F-2 racing until 1966, and the engineers, who had been designing the machines, began designing commercial mini automobiles. By 1967, the research center was busier than ever. That year, Honda signed John Surtees—the only man in the world who became world champion in both the Motorcycle and F-1 Grand Prix series—as a driver for the F-1 team.
Although the RA273 finished third at the South African Grand Prix, the first race of the 1967 season, it had to be scrapped after only a few races. However, its engine was modified to produce greater output, and was mounted in the new RA300.
To make the machine more competitive, in midseason Nakamura and Surtees decided to build a completely new, lightweight chassis through Lora for the Italian Grand Prix. Therefore, Honda sent Shoichi Sano, who was in charge of chassis design, to Lora. The completed RA300 achieved an output rating of 420 horsepower, while keeping the chassis weight to 610 kg.
The Italian Grand Prix, held on September 10, was to be an historic race. In the last stretch on the way toward the finish, leading drivers Surtees and Jack Brabham were running only a few meters, or 0.2 seconds, away from each other. Eventually, Surtees’ RA300 finished first, bringing Honda a second victory to complement its first win at Mexico two years before.
The following day, when the team was returning to London from Milan Airport, the members were congratulated by people at Alitalia Airlines, who had made special arrangements for the team to board the plane first. Suddenly the real excitement of victory sank in among the team members, who realized just what a feat they had achieved.
"This honor was a product of our joint development effort with Lora," Sano says. "The engine supplier took all the credit for the victory, while regrettably the chassis constructor stayed in the shadows. However, after the victory people gave us cynical comments, saying we should be called ‘Hondala,’ not Honda. But in a sense the event prompted Honda to form a new strategy for its second phase of F-1 racing, in which it decided to supply engines only." |
