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| Honda won triple victories in 1996, after only three seasons in the Indy-CART series. Here the Honda staff members congratulate each other on their impressive season. |
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In March of 1994, after overcoming these hurdles and drawing the media's attention each step of the way, Honda made its debut. But to the disappointment of the audience, Honda ended its inaugural season with humiliating results. Its engines finished thirteen out of sixteen races yet produced merely one podium win. Particularly, the race that made clear to Honda the high standard of Indy Car racing was the Indy 500, the same race that had seven years earlier inspired Asaka to decide it was the race for Honda. The 500 is, of course, the original and longest-running race in the Indy Car series.
Rahal Hogan Racing, which had in its qualifying round lost out of the Indy 500, decided to use a chassis and Ilmore engine supplied by another team.
Following that, Asaka received a fax from Rahal Hogan immediately before the 11th running of the Mid-Ohio race, saying they would terminate their contract with Honda as of the end of the season. Asaka could not conceal his shock at such sudden, unexpected notice from Bobby Rahal, who since 1989 had been supplying information to Honda and actively cooperating with testing, even prior to Honda's announcement that it would compete in Indy.
Honda was brought back to attention by this embarrassing experience, a fact that ultimately led to the new HRH engine. The HRX engine used during the 1994 season had employed a cast-iron block to ensure sufficient durability for the 500-mile run. However, the development team, which was working hard to improve the HRX engine, decided to tackle a seemingly impossible task. They would continue working on the HRX for the upcoming races while developing a new engine. The HRH unit adopted an aluminum block for reduced overall weight. In collaboration with Comtech Racing Team, a series of tests was conducted. |
