This Honda must have the best history of any race car in Canada.
The car was initially purchased by George Curnew through the sealed engine, performance bond process for the Honda Michelin Challenge Series in 1989. George and I first met after I tried to T-boned his brand new car at the hairpin after Deer’s Leap at Westwood on a very, very wet practice day. George campaigned the car for part of 1989 and George later dropped out of the HMCS. He and his brother replaced the orginal sealed HMCS engine with an SI engine and ran in regional races.
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Dennis Goruk then bought the car and it was raced at Westwood, Race City and successfully for few years at the Vancouver Invitation GT Indy weekends. ( Dennis and this Honda received a great deal of television coverage at the 1994 Indy GT invitational race. Just minutes before going out on the track for the big event, Dennis learned he was a Grandfather. Heather, my wife grabbed a magic marker and wrote in large dark letters across the rear bumper “NEW GRANPA!” Dennis did not know Heather had done this. The camera crews saw this and followed Dennis for much of the race. Dennis learned of the additional decaling by seeing it up on the giant screens as he raced around the track.
Don Brew then bought the car from Dennis and raced it successfully for a number of years. We still do not understand how Don was able to set some of the lap times we saw from this low Hp car. ( However, Jon, the present owner was pushing some of those times.) Don also competed at the Kelowna Hillclimb with this car.
I purchased the car from Don. Rick Coutts and I shared the car and we had a lot of fun in the 2 hour King of the Road endurance races. I was no longer able to pass the medicals for my competition license, so Rick raced it for another year and then Glen Nishyama ( former HMCS Champion) raced her for a year under my ownership. Gord Galloway also raced the car during that 3 to 4 year period.
I sold the car to Jon and he successfully raced the car for a number of years.
This little car has been a great car to learn to drive on a race track. The key is momentum. One little mistake at one corner can impact a lap time by 1, 2 to 4 seconds. One mistake is telegraphed for the entire lap. You learn to be smooth and never make a mistake. With high Hp or high torque cars you make a slight bobble at corner 2 you can be back at speed by corner 3 or 4. In cars like this Honda a little bobble at 2 maybe not be not recovered until corner 9 if you do not brake at the chicane.
This is a fabulous race car for a new competitor. Parts are easy to find. The car is very easy to work on.
I very much doubt there is any other car in Canada that has more racing laps on than this car and there are 1000s of laps left in this car.
I would like to know how many personal Championships and trophies this car has accumulated for so many different drivers over the years. I’m sure there will be many more trophies gathered up for the future owners of this car. Great value at $3500. Buy it, just to be part of the long line of successful owners.