News: To defend their racing title...

Honda Malaysia unveils new racing machines in defence of their S1K crown. By Chris Ng

So the burden of retaining the Sepang 1000KM crown is no longer the sole responsibility of the Honda Jazz that finished 1st and 9th place respectively. This year, Honda will be fielding the new generation Honda Jazz and Honda City. Regular Car readers would know that other than the sheet metal, there isn’t much to separate the Jazz and the City as they share the same of almost everything.

Commenting about the two new race machines, HMRT Team Director Mr Akkbar Danial said, “The team has been working hard on both cars since March. We decided to race with the City for the first time this year as it meets the requirement of being in the 1600cc Class. It also shares the same platform with the All-New Jazz which fits to be a race car if adequate changes were done to the suspension especially.”

We already know that the new cars handles well out of the box, which makes it a good platform for the engineers to build upon. What changed is the inclusion of a special ball joint to adjust the roll centre. Also, the bump steer of the machine was tooled by the team for better manoeuvrability. Both cars also had to hit the proverbial gym, shedding internal body parts till it tips the scales at a mere 1030kg.

Naturally, the drivetrain would also need to be upgraded for the competition. No news on how the engine is modified but we do know that the cars will be running the standard Continuous Variable Transmission; albeit with a tweak to the ratio.

The Honda Malaysia Racing Team consists of 42 fully independent and local Honda associates who are full-time employees of the Japanese car company. Now that they have two races under their collective belts, they do know how to put together a competitive machine.

Eddie Lew, Aaron Lim and Farriz Fauzy return to the race seat; the fourth driver is unknown at the moment. In any case, all three drivers are experienced. Collectively, they have 10 years in racing and two years as teammates for the S1K races.

“HMRT’s objective is to improve technical knowledge and skills of Honda associates through participation in the local motorsports scene. Honda Malaysia will continue its commitment to racing activities and contribute our resources and utmost support towards HMRT to strengthen the brand positioning in the local circuit and share its excitement with Malaysians.” added Mr Akkbar.

The Jazz will race as Car 26 and the City as Car 27. Whether or not the team can achieve the same levels of success remain to be seen. Answers will come in December.