Team Honda Research-West (THR-W) kicked off its bid for NASA’s 2010 HPD Honda Challenge national championship title June 26 and 27, 2010 in Buttonwillow, California. In a series of events that included two sprintraces, a three-hour endurance race and two time trials during a single hotand exhausting weekend, driver Lawrence Hwang earned the five pointsnecessary to qualify THR-W for the NASA National Championships.
Re-commissioning the number 25 Acura Motorsports Acura RSX-S after sittingidle for six months, Hwang was able to learn the car, work out the bugs,and pilot the vehicle to a 2nd place H1 class finish in Saturday’s HPDHonda Challenge race.
A fuel leak prevented an earnest qualifying effort for Saturday evening’sthree-hour Western Endurance Regional Championship (WERC) race, so the 25car was forced to start from the back of the grid. THR-W driver, SageMarie, worked diligently to move through the field, ultimately reachingsecond in class and 6th overall. Hwang took the wheel at the two hourmark, maintaining the team’s position until a low fuel situation with 10minutes left in the race forced him into conservation mode and resulted ina fourth place finish. The single set of BF Goodrich R1 Tires lasted thecomplete 3 hours with much to spare.
The weekend's Time Trial events marked another opportunity for Hwang todevelop the car and earn vital points. With intention to preserve for theendurance race and HC races, two 4th place finishes were achieved in TTRclass.
“We look forward to r
epresenting Honda Racing/HPD at the 2010 NASA NationalChampionships, especially since HPD is getting so involved with supportingits customers that race in the HPD Honda Challenge series” Hwang commented.“We know the RSX is very competitive, and we think with a little moredevelopment, our Acura Motorsports RSX-S will be in contention for achampionship.”
epresenting Honda Racing/HPD at the 2010 NASA NationalChampionships, especially since HPD is getting so involved with supportingits customers that race in the HPD Honda Challenge series” Hwang commented.“We know the RSX is very competitive, and we think with a little moredevelopment, our Acura Motorsports RSX-S will be in contention for achampionship.”
THR-W was founded in 1996 and is the officially sanctioned employee roadracing team of Honda R&D Los Angeles - comprised entirely of Hondaassociates who strive to exhibit in themselves and their vehicles thechallenging spirit first demonstrated by company founder Soichiro Honda. Inaddition to more than 20 SCCA class wins, the two car team won the 2007NASA Western Endurance Racing Series Championship “WERC.,” earned eightpodium finishes in the past two WERC Series seasons and finished second inclass at the 25 Hours of Thunderhill three times.
