Honda Motor Co., Ltd. last week announced that it will base its European racing operation in Milton Keynes, United Kingdom, in preparation for participation in the FIA F1 World Championship from the 2015 season.
Honda will participate in F1, under a joint project with McLaren, as a supplier of the power unit including the engine and energy recovery system from the 2015 season.
The new facility will be the European frontline operation for Honda’s F1 participation and will rebuild and maintain the power units developed at Honda R&D center in Tochigi, Japan. Honda will also base its trackside support operations from this new European office.
This office will be located in the new engine research and development center of Mugen Euro, where Honda plans to start operations from June of 2014.
Whilst the development and manufacture of Honda’s F1 power units will take place at the R&D center in Tochigi, Japan, it was important for Honda to establish a European facility to support its racing operation. The U.K. is an ideal location; it is the home of McLaren, many F1 suppliers are U.K. based and with seven of the 19 races taking place in Europe (2013), the U.K. acts as a global hub for the transportation of parts as well as team personnel.
The office operations include rebuilding and maintenance of power units, and trackside support and Engineer office for WTCC activities.
Yasuhisa Arai, Senior Managing Officer and Director, Chief Officer of Motorsports, Honda R&D Co., Ltd. Said, “With the confirmation of a new F1 operation base in U.K., our preparation to join F1 has become more specific and concrete. To meet and exceed the expectations of our fans, we will accelerate our development to bring back the unique Honda engine sound onto the track.”
So despite the abject failure of their F1 challenge of a few years ago, Honda will again be seen on the F1 stage from 2015. Wish them luck!
