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Acura's ALMS effort is just the beginning We renewed acquaintances with Honda/Acura's Robert Clarke at the recent American LeMans Series weekend at Lime Rock, Conn. Clarke, known as a true gentleman in racing circles, was named general manager of Honda Performance Development when the company established its racing division in 1993, and he was named company president in 2005. HPD employs 120 people and operates out of a 123,000 square-foot building in Santa Clarita, Calif., that houses comprehensive engine R&D, prototype and production parts manufacturing, engine preparation, analysis, dyno/test cells, machine shop, parts center and administrative offices. Acura's prototype initiative in ALMS is the first factory motorsports program for Acura, the luxury brand of American Honda Motor Co., in its 20- year history. Acura made its competition debut at the 12- Hours of Sebring this past March with three LMP2 entries. To the surprise of everyone - except, perhaps, the Acura teams - it won its class and placed second and third overall. A longtime SCCA racer, Clarke, 57, sometimes campaigns in vintage events. As for the ALMS Acura effort, it is difficult for Clarke to hide his enthusiasm. "This is just the beginning for Acura in ALMS," said Clarke. "We'll hopefully move into the ALMS LMP1 class based on our success in LMP2, and this is our overall goal." Clarke admitted that, unlike the IRL IndyCar Series events where Honda engines power all of the entries through the 2009 season, he much more appreciates the true manufacturer versus manufacturer atmosphere that ALMS offers. "Granted, we win every race within the IRL, but we also power the losers." He further explains that unlike the Honda 3.5 V-8 Indy Series engine, which shares an assembly agreement with Ilmor engines in Europe, the entire ALMS racing engine, a 3.4 V- 8, is a 100 percent HPD effort. Clarke notes that the chassis used by two of the three Acura teams were purchased as Courage-chassis models, but now are officially Acura following much tweaking and redesign. The third Acura utilizes a Lola chassis. "If you want to win in LMP1, you'll need a manufacturer specific chassis to do so," said Clarke. "When we move into the LMP1 class, we'll certainly use our own developed and tested Acura chassis." Clarke also noted that the high-end Acura brand is sold only in North America, with expansion on the horizon. "Currently, Acura is available only in North America, but we'll be marketing Acura in both China and Japan, soon. ALMS gives us the opportunity to experiment and develop our technology with the prototype entries." In ending, the last time we queried Clarke, we asked if HPD might one day take delivery of some Holley carburetors, pointing to a move into NASCAR-style racing (where engines utilize Holley carbs in Sears Craftsman Truck, Busch Series and Nextel Cup). "Holley carburetors are still not welcome at HPD's R&D headquarters," Clarke joked. "If they show up, we'll send them back. It's our way of saying that we are more interested in a higher-tech form of racing." Write to Greg Zyla in care of King Features Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL32853-6475, or send an e-mail to gzyla@ptd.net.
(c) 2007 King Features Synd., Inc.
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