At nearly every track day around the globe, you can count on seeing a few Hondas making the rounds, thanks to their unbeatable formula of cost versus performance.
Hondas are unmatched in this respect – love or loathe them, the evidence is irrefutable. However, during my recent visit to Italy for the 2024 Tarox Magione Super Battle (MSB), the number of Hondas competing was astonishing.
As a big fan of Honda and having had the pleasure of driving several models, the EK Civic and NSX-R are among my all-time favourites. So it’s safe to say I don’t need convincing that these lightweight, low-power machines are the perfect circuit weapons. Yet, many remain sceptical of this philosophy.
As I said in my main MSB coverage, one might expect an Italian event to be dominated by Fiats, Ferraris, Alfa Romeos and other domestically manufactured icons, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The MSB draws inspiration from events like Attack Tsukuba, attracting a crowd with a deep appreciation for Japanese performance cars. And just like Tsukuba, the most popular brand here was Honda.
The Autodromo dell’Umbria paddocks buzzed with everything from Civics to S2000s – and even a Honda K-swapped Lotus Exige. It was clear that the MSB’s fastest contenders all had the H-badge in common.
While I can’t highlight every Honda present, a few deserve a deeper dive into what made them so blisteringly quick around the technical, 2.5km-long circuit. First up is a turbocharged S2000 – one of the fastest cars of the day, with all the sounds to match. Its subtle aerodynamic tweaks are reminiscent of what you see at Tsukuba and similar time attack events in Japan.
Another standout was this turbo EK Civic, which sounded so good as it thundered down the main straight.
Then there was this Rotrex-supercharged S2000, a favourite of mine for its beautiful simplicity. Retaining its stock body, it came just shy of the fastest lap time of the day.
While it may not sport an H badge outside, the clear Honda highlight of the day was this S1 Lotus Exige. With a Rotrex-supercharged Honda K-series engine replacing its factory Rover mill, it epitomises the pinnacle of both manufacturers, resulting in a record-breaking machine.
These examples merely scratch the surface of the Honda presence at MSB. The paddocks also featured Kanjo-inspired EG hatches, carbon-fibre S2000s, several CR-Xs, and a few Integra Type Rs, showcasing Italy’s diverse Honda culture.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on these cost-effective circuit weapons. Is the Honda track car scene just as popular where you live?
Alec Pender
Instagram: noplansco
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One of the best cars I have ever been in on the track was a CRX with about $12,000 into it. Including the car. The owner gutted it and swapped a K20 iirc on a shoe string budget was able to lap as fast as a GT3 RS driven by a credible PCA member (track days are predominantly amateur events so you have to be careful who you reference times with). That was one of my first experiences with a Honda at a track about 15 years ago and I've been a big fan of them for racing ever since.
Having said that, I think when it comes to track days and sports cars it is very very difficult to beat a C5 or C6 Corvette with even basic track specific modifications. Hondas tend to lack power and were designed to be economy cars at the end of the day so you do have to rework them in some cases. An example of this is the AP1's rear geometry that causes understeer that can be harder to control for less experienced drivers.
The next step up from track days is usually "wheel to wheel" racing for most enthusiasts and this is when the costs start to sky rocket. Again why I prefer karting. For a fraction of the cost of said Hondas and Corvettes you can get a machine that pulls almost 2x the G-force of either of those cars with less cost to maintain and track. You get more time for less money, more physical fitness, and better control of a sports car should you decide to venture into that area.
I would say for the average guy on a budget of $50,000 a year to track something: Kart > Corvette > S2000 / CRX / Integra etc. But a good feature again with nice words and good photos. I like these articles the most!
Meant to say oversteer with the AP1. Autocorrect got me.
You are right about Karting, but for most of us that enjoy trackdays or spirited road driving, we factor in something that racing drivers don't, the pride of ownership, and the slow transformation of our cars to the vision in our heads,the car first, our times second. There is a pride in owning a "golden years" Honda that most people with better and more expensive cars don't understand, I think it has to do with the perceived solid engineering providing the base for the endless costumization avenues. Alfa Romeo owners are all passion, but they know that their cars are like a summer love. Honda owners are in love but they know that their dream is reliable
A lot of your reply is based in emotions:
"golden years"
"people with better cars don't understand"
"perceived solid engineering"
"Alfa Romeo owners are all passion"
"Summer love"
"their dream is reliable"
"spirited driving"
These are all emotional based terms that have nothing to do with quantifiable aspects of a car. That is the main difference between road users and racing drivers. One is very emotional based. The other is metric based. This is why I say that road cars have become feminine. Most men on this site who have a girlfriend know their world is entirely based around emotions.
"What are you feeling honey"
"talk to me"
This comment is not directed at you but more the larger group of people who have questioned or insulted me. I respect your points of view, but we have to acknowledge these are emotional conjectures not engineering ones or ones based around quantifiable facts.
Just for laughs here is one in the process of being built. It will run on alcohol and produce 60hp with a weight of 140lbs. Power to weight ratio will be equal to a Veyron making 2000awhp. lol.
Veyron's power-to-weight ratio is a joke. Lol!
I like how there was no reply. Stock proton. You’ve likely never driven anything even close to that PWR and probably could maximize something with a 1:13 or 1:15 ratio. Pretty funny stuff how you guys never reply or elaborate because of the lack of experience. Cheers.
Couldn’t maximize*
What do you mean Takumi? A 1:4 PWR is a pretty fast car. And 1:2 is definitely fast. No ifs ands or buts about it.
For the record I build all my own stuff when it comes to racing. Engines, transmissions, differentials, etc etc. Here is a shot from my kart engine rebuild. We had to modify the crank and the clutch on a lathe as well as many other processes. It runs flawlessly to 17,000rpm and produces about 30hp @ 15,500. The starter and other components were removed and we doubled the gasket thickness to raise the cylinder head. This doesn't increase compression, but changes the port timing at the exhaust. It will have a power to weight ratio of ~1:5.3 when done. Equal to an Integra Type R making about 530fwhp.
Nothing wrong with tinkerers. A race team needs all kinds of people and the tinkerers are usually the guys who love to look over the rule books and find the loop holes haha.
Nothing wrong with that. I used to think the same way for many years until I got into purpose built racing cars like Formula 4 etc. What you are describing is the mentality of a tinkerer. You enjoy putting something together and being able to show off / enjoy the end result. In this sense a lap time is a biproduct of what you built.
In the world of racing we are trying to win and don't care about how it looks of the heritage or any of the doe eyed nostalgia. These are all feelings and emotions. This is not what wins a race.
The unfortunate reality for a lot of men is that when you pour hundreds of hours into your build, spend hundreds of thousands (or millions) of dollars only for it to get smoked by a 16 year old in a $12,000 Formula Mazda it can be quite disheartening. I've seen it happen a lot.
Then you find out that kid doesn't have to rebuild an engine for 300 hours (facts of Formula Mazda) or put his car up on a lift for anything more than brake pads in 12 years while you've been under your vehicle every month breaking your back for a quarter of a second...you better find tinkering very very enjoyable. And you also better enjoy being the slow guy all the time at events.
I personally enjoy DRIVING the most. I thought thats why the car was invented
Wow. I guess I shut this one down pretty quick. A lot of irrefutable facts the dorks can’t chime in on here. Pat myself on the back for this one lmao.
Great finds, Alec. The white CRX on RPF1s is talking to me quite a bit.
However, I'm wondering how these guys are faring driving these cars around Italy (if they even do). With all the talk about Italian police being complete hound dogs about car modifications, it's surprising this scene could be thriving off the track.
Maybe it's just a phenomenon in specific regions and its looser elsewhere ?
Thanks! There is definitely a police issue across the country, from what I understood. Cars at the event came from all regions and many spoke of said issues. As you can imagine a lot of the heavily modified cars were trailered, the closer to stock looking ones drove in.
Vincent thanks for bringing up the point of police. I should have included that in my reply above. I've never seen someone get arrested on a race track for speeding.