Honda stretched thin?

[ergenomic]

Was thinking Honda are stretched thin. They must have the largest coverage of participation in major racing series... F1, Indy, MotoGP, SuperBike, BTCC. Surely they would be better dropping something and focusing their efforts!

I'm sure there will be someone now list every single category that a Ferrari or Mercedes participate in... but I don't believe it is the same as they are mostly race versions of the same product development (by and large)

If I were Mr Honda I would drop Indy and super bike.

[Shrieker]

Their Superbike effort is not a factory one. It's the Dutch Ten Kate Squad and Honda Europe if I'm not mistaken.

As for Indy.. That might not be a great move for the American market. Although I do know they sell their cars under the Acura name as well.

[etusch]

And WTCC. with 1.6 lt Turbo engine.
Suprtbike is modified road bike. I think that category doesnt effect too much.
Honda sell 40 percent of whole sale at usa. So indy must be go on.

[ergenomic]

Brands in Indy are not really in other categories. Honda if it were serious about participation in f1 would allocate engineering effort accordingly. Given Honda didn't do a lot against Ferrari in the v8 era, I cannot see them doing much against Merc in the v6h era

[NYGIANTS]

Was thinking Honda are stretched thin. They must have the largest coverage of participation in major racing series... F1, Indy, MotoGP, SuperBike, BTCC. Surely they would be better dropping something and focusing their efforts!

I'm sure there will be someone now list every single category that a Ferrari or Mercedes participate in... but I don't believe it is the same as they are mostly race versions of the same product development (by and large)

If I were Mr Honda I would drop Indy and super bike.

don't know if they're thin but one thing they need to do is think outside the box and get some outside help. its part of their culture and i don't mean just honda, but this is where pride needs to step aside cause this was supposed to be the year.

on a brighter note... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hWvDm1epgU

[godlameroso]

Was thinking Honda are stretched thin. They must have the largest coverage of participation in major racing series... F1, Indy, MotoGP, SuperBike, BTCC. Surely they would be better dropping something and focusing their efforts!

I'm sure there will be someone now list every single category that a Ferrari or Mercedes participate in... but I don't believe it is the same as they are mostly race versions of the same product development (by and large)

If I were Mr Honda I would drop Indy and super bike.

IMSA in GTD, and PWC as well(Acura NSX), and soon a DPi program with Penske.

And their bread and butter Super GT, Arta snatching pole in Okayama

I'm actually grateful for so much motorsports involvement.

[roon]

Pure speculation on my part, but maybe they aren't in it only for the purses & trophies. Maybe they cover enough cost via sponsorship and view the rest of the budget as an engineering & marketing expenditure. As such this wouldn't constitute being "stretched thin" but a reflection of their approach.

Could it also be that they are the more affordable supplier in a given series?

[Singabule]

It is their dream, it is their branding, motorsport=honda, honda=motorsport. They would not drop anything, but maybe create a join forces with outsider, HPD is the famous example and it works. I think they would do exactly the same in F1 if their facility in MK is online since they heavy recruiting engineer. Any confirmation of Honda-ilmor join forces? Under honda umbrella of course.

[Jolle]

They outsource most/all racing operations to professional racing teams. Next to that, as a previous poster said, apart from Indy, MotoGP and F1 it's all production based.

I also believe that the MotoGP bike is developed at an entirely different part of the company (HRC instead of Honda Motorsport) so basically they only make two engines. A simple one (Indy) and s difficult one (F1).

Compared to for instance Mercedes, it's very similar. They make the DTM V8, F3 and F1 PU as pure racing engines. Or VAG, with the WEC Porsche and Audi engines, their DTM beast, WRC, MotoGP (Ducati) etc etc.

[FW17]

They outsource most/all racing operations to professional racing teams. Next to that, as a previous poster said, apart from Indy, MotoGP and F1 it's all production based.

I also believe that the MotoGP bike is developed at an entirely different part of the company (HRC instead of Honda Motorsport) so basically they only make two engines. A simple one (Indy) and s difficult one (F1).

Compared to for instance Mercedes, it's very similar. They make the DTM V8, F3 and F1 PU as pure racing engines. Or VAG, with the WEC Porsche and Audi engines, their DTM beast, WRC, MotoGP (Ducati) etc etc.

Indy engine is entirely developed in the US, no resources from Japan

[Singabule]

They outsource most/all racing operations to professional racing teams. Next to that, as a previous poster said, apart from Indy, MotoGP and F1 it's all production based.

I also believe that the MotoGP bike is developed at an entirely different part of the company (HRC instead of Honda Motorsport) so basically they only make two engines. A simple one (Indy) and s difficult one (F1).

Compared to for instance Mercedes, it's very similar. They make the DTM V8, F3 and F1 PU as pure racing engines. Or VAG, with the WEC Porsche and Audi engines, their DTM beast, WRC, MotoGP (Ducati) etc etc.

Indy engine is entirely developed in the US, no resources from Japan

Yeah, HPD is from america, as well as NSX. Question is why not badge it as Acura, since it is rooting from US. How about NSX electrical failure on all NSX in super gt? Can it is related to fuel issue in F1?

[ergenomic]

Was thinking Honda are stretched thin. They must have the largest coverage of participation in major racing series... F1, Indy, MotoGP, SuperBike, BTCC. Surely they would be better dropping something and focusing their efforts!

I'm sure there will be someone now list every single category that a Ferrari or Mercedes participate in... but I don't believe it is the same as they are mostly race versions of the same product development (by and large)

If I were Mr Honda I would drop Indy and super bike.

IMSA in GTD, and PWC as well(Acura NSX), and soon a DPi program with Penske.

And their bread and butter Super GT, Arta snatching pole in Okayama

I'm actually grateful for so much motorsports involvement.

I'm thankful for the organisational focus on Motorsport. But I question the 'all things to all people' approach in motorsport. I get that Honda is the largest manufacturer of combustion engines in the world, but is it necessary to have so many top flight racing programs. Surely focusing activities will lead to a better result?