Honda Cars : Evans and Honda in front after Heat Two of Rally Calder | 2013 New Honda Car Reviews 0

The Honda Jazz of Eli Evans and Glen Weston finished in the lead again at Rally Calder in the two-wheel drive category, at the end of Heat Two.

Teammates Mark Pedder and Claire Ryan were close to the lead for most of the day, however they suffered from an issue with their transmission.

The weather wreaked havoc all Saturday, with constant rain for most of the afternoon making some stages muddy and treacherous for competitors. It did make for good viewing for rally fans in and around Calder Park Raceway.

Both Honda Jazz led for most of the day, once again switching amongst the top three during the morning and early afternoon. On SS13 however, Monkhouse and Moscatt took the lead in their Nissan Sylvia.On SS19, Pedder and Ryan suffered a transmission issue, forcing them back to service. „We were just coming through a fairly tight second gear corner and heard a big bang.

Initially I thought it was a drive shaft, then we lost a bit of drive and then it locked in third, so we puddled our way through the stage,‰ Pedder said.

If a competitor has a technical issue, they are allowed to rejoin if they can fix it however they receive a time penalty. For the stages they miss, they take the slowest time plus 30 seconds. „The plan is if they can get it sorted we‚ll rejoin. We‚ll drop a fair bit of time but at least have some points from today,‰ Pedder said as his crew were busy at work.

The constant rain forced rally organisers to cancel the remaining stages on dirt and run the last two tarmac stages around the Thunderdome. „We had a challenging afternoon but the boys from J.A.S and Evans Motorsport fixed the Honda and we went out on the last two stages. We just wanted to get through them and have a big attack tomorrow,‰ said Pedder.Evans and Weston capped off a fantastic two days, despite the weather and finished in front again. „

It was a pretty difficult day really. They had to cancel the last few gravel stages because it was like driving in a swamp.

„Our strategy was to keep the Jazz on the road. It sounds easy but it really wasn‚t. Every time you got on a stage it changed. Your braking markers were different every time and I just wanted to make sure I was pushing the brake pedal early to see what kind of grip we had so I could slow the car down and get through and on to the next corner without going wide or cutting in too much.

Evans praised the Honda and his competitors. „The Honda hasn‚t missed a beat. It‚s pretty good for its maiden trip out. „

We had a fair bit of pressure from Jack Monkhouse today for outright, it was only on the last two stages that we managed to get ahead of him to take the full points. It was good to have a bit of rivalry in the two-wheel drive category. Well done to Jack and Dale and I look forward to racing them again tomorrow. I‚m sure Mark will be chasing Jack as well, now that he‚s back on track, Evans said.

Heat Three commences at around 9 am tomorrow, with the top three in both the two-wheel and four-wheel drive categories in a shoot-out session for bonus championship point.

Source;
http://www.rallysportmag.com.au/home/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6554&Itemid=2

Honda Cars : Honda Insight Hybrid racer banned - it's too fast | 2013 New Honda Car Reviews 0

Modified, previous-generation Honda Insight has blown away a field of conventional rally cars.
Technically, the car you see here is a hybrid capable of some pretty impressive consumption, yet it's been banned from rallying for being too fast.

Yes, the world's greenest rally car has been kicked out of its championship because it's too quick.

The petrol-electric (previous shape) Honda Insight hybrid, which competes in the Formula 1000 rally championship in the UK, has been asked to withdraw following concerns from rival competitors that it has an unfair advantage, after dominating the 2011 series with two wins and a second place from the first three rounds.

The car, which uses a tuned petrol-electric hybrid system to give it more power and better fuel efficiency, has been developed by the Oaktec team from Lancaster over a six-year period using the low emission Honda car as a base.

The developments of the green technology have been so successful that the eco car, which can return an amazing 2.4 litres per 100km when driven slowly, has blown away a field of conventional rally cars to gain a 19 point championship lead after just three rallies.

The championship organisers phoned the Oaktec team to request that they stand down from the series and compete the car in a higher class to appease rival competitors. The team has agreed to the demand and will now look to race in other classes.

Oaktec boss Paul Andrews commented: “It was a bit of a shock when I got the call as after six years of hard work we finally had our chance for a bit of glory. But I fully understand the perspective of the organisers and their wish not to spoil the sport for the other drivers.”

Source;
http://www.iol.co.za/motoring/motorsport/hybrid-racer-banned-it-s-too-fast-1.1090243

Honda Cars : Honda Civic Si Takes 1st Place At SCCA RallyCross Championships | 2013 New Honda Car Reviews 0

When someone says, “rally car” you probably immediately think of a Subaru WRX STI or Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. Perhaps with the PR around the new 2011 Ford Fiesta, you think of Kent Block’s tricked out WRC Fiesta rally car. One thing is for sure, you probably don’t have your eyes set on something like a Honda Civic Si. However, much to the surprise of a lot of people, one particular stock Honda Civic Si took not only 1st place, but 2nd place in the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) RallyCross® Modified two-wheel drive championships. It just goes to show that sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.

For the second consecutive year the SCCA National RallyCross Championships have been held in Fountain, Colo. at the U.S Truck Driving School. Last year’s event was so successful that the SCCA home office in Topeka though it would be a good idea to come back to the Rockies and run another championship event. Quite an event it was too, with almost 80 cars, some of which traveled from all over the contiguous 48 states. The real surprise though was the type of cars that come out to race at these events.

The SCCA National RallyCross Championships saw cars from the expected Subaru WRX to VW Golfs to the more unusual Chevrolet Berretta. To some degree, Rally racing isn’t so much about the type of car, as it is about the driver. Ken Cashion, operational steward of the National RallyCross Championships, wanted to prove that sometimes you don’t have to go overboard to win a Championship title. Cashion and myself set off to do what some deemed to be the impossible—win the modified two-wheel drive championships with a stock (except for rally tires and rims) Honda Civic Si with six-speed manual transmission. At 195 horsepower and with the infamous Honda VTEC motor, the Civic Si isn’t playing around. However, could it beat fully modified cars?

The answer was yes. Honda, from the factory, is able to build a car that could not only take first place in the Championships, but also claim second place (with yours truly behind the wheel) in the same category and another second place victory in the prepared two-wheel drive class. This little red Civic also claimed the fastest time of the day in its class on Sunday with myself piloting it around the course.

Bottom line—Small cars aren’t what they used to be and Honda has the proof in the pudding with the Civi Si. The question now is, will you check on out for yourself?

Source;
http://www.allsmallcars.com/blog/1048629_honda-civic-si-takes-1st-place-at-scca-rallycross-championships