HONDA UNVEILS NEW F1 CHALLENGER
The Honda Racing F1 Team unveiled its challenger for the
2006 Formula One season in Spain this morning with the new
driver line-up of Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello. This
marked an important milestone for Honda as it is the first
Formula One car launched by a Honda works team since 1968.
 As
an indication of Honda's commitment to the new challenge and
the strength of its manufacturing operation, the team delivered
not one, but two identical RA106 race cars to the launch to
enable Rubens and Jenson to start testing at exactly the same
time. The new cars and their RA806E engines are the product
of a single, unified team which combines the resources of
the Honda Racing F1 Team Operations Centre in Brackley, England,
Honda Racing Development's engine base in Bracknell, England,
and Honda R&D in Tochigi, Japan.
The RA106 sported its new base canvas of Honda Racing White,
a colour which has been synonymous with the Honda motorsport
identity since the company's F1 debut in 1964. The rest of
the livery has the more familiar feel of the Lucky Strike
brand, which remains as title sponsor for the 2006 season.
Nick Fry, Chief Executive Officer
"Our target in 2006 is to challenge for race wins and
we will do our utmost to achieve that objective."
"During 2005 we put in place some important building
blocks that will help us meet our targets in 2006 and beyond.
We secured two of the best racing drivers in the world, we
proved our ability to develop a car through the season, resulting
in points for Jenson in each of the last ten races, and we
gained a better understanding of the strengths of the 2004
car and the issues with our 2005 race car. Lastly, and most
importantly, we have "works" team status with access
to the technical resources of Honda R&D. I'm particularly
proud that we have been able to deliver a new car each for
Jenson and Rubens today which demonstrates the depth of our
manufacturing ability and skill and determination of our people.
With our new wind tunnel also coming on-stream later this
year, we are ready to step up to the challenge."
Yasuhiro Wada
President of Honda Racing Development and Management Board
Member of the Honda Racing F1 Team
"The 2006 F1 season means a great deal to all of us at
Honda as it marks the beginning of a new adventure and confirms
an even greater commitment to F1. The launch today of the
first F1 chassis since 1968 to carry the Honda name is a particularly
significant moment.
"It is up to all the engineers involved in the programme,
at the F1 Operations Centre in Brackley, HRD in Bracknell
and Honda R&D in Japan to rise to the challenge of F1
and show the world what Honda can do as a fully integrated
force. The development of a new challenging spirit and a desire
to work together to challenge for wins is at the core of Honda's
philosophy. Honda has always exposed its engineers to the
highest competition in racing as it uniquely prepares them
for the challenges that lie ahead. We are all excited about
the season to come and up for the fight!"
Geoffrey Willis, Technical Director
"The new RA106 is the product of four years of steady
evolution. During this time, the team has developed a high
level of technical capability which now sees it designing,
manufacturing and operating at the highest level on the grid.
The emphasis now is on integration and combining our design
concepts and expertise to achieve a car capable of challenging
for race wins.
"One of our key areas of focus has been aerodynamics,
the design considerations for which were two-fold - the aero
problem that we faced in 2005 and achieving a significant
improvement in aerodynamic efficiency to meet the requirements
of the new, smaller V8 engine and its implications on chassis
design. We are pleased with the progress we have made in the
wind tunnel over the winter and our data shows that we have
made a good step forward. Mechanically, in keeping with the
evolutionary theme we have refined our various concepts including
our third generation carbon composite gearbox.
"Honda has produced a new engine to meet the challenge
of Formula One's switch from V10 to V8 power. The new RA806E
is the result of a very intensive year's work with many concepts
designed and tested since the prototype first ran in May 2005.
Since the latest specification started running in November
2005, the team has been encouraged by its reliability and
performance."
Car No. 11, Rubens Barrichello
"This is a very exciting day for me as it's my first
launch with a new team for six years! Honda has a fantastic
heritage in motorsport and it's great to be a part of that
now. I can't wait to drive the new car and the discussions
I've had with our technical team indicate that we have good
reason to be excited about the season ahead. I'm sure that
will be confirmed when I test the car for the first time today."
Car No. 12, Jenson Button
"I'm incredibly proud and excited to be part of the Honda
Racing F1 Team and 2006 is going to be a very important year
for all of us. We've achieved a lot in winter testing with
our Concept car and I have seen first hand the huge effort
in Brackley and Tochigi over the past few months. I'm confident
that all the determination will be rewarded this year and
I've done my part by working even harder on my fitness to
ensure that I'm in the best possible shape for the season
ahead. I can't wait for the first race in Bahrain."
Third Driver, Anthony Davidson
"I'm really looking forward to playing my part in what
I'm sure will be a successful year for the team. It's going
to be great to be running again on Fridays at Grands Prix
and I know this will really help our development throughout
the year."
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