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Racing history
Soichiro Honda, being a race driver himself, could not stay out of international motorsport. In 1959, Honda entered five motorcycles into
the Isle of Man TT race, the most prestigious motorcycle race in the world. While always having good power, it took until 1961 for Honda to
tune their chassis well enough to allow Mike Hailwood to claim their first race victories in the 125 and 250 cc classes. Hailwood would later
pick up their first senior TT win in 1966.
In 1968, Jo Schlesser was killed in a Honda RA302 at the French Grand Prix. This racing tragedy, coupled with their commercial difficulties
selling automobiles in the United States, prompted Honda to withdraw from all international motorsport that year.
In 2003, Honda became an engine supplier to the Indy Racing League. In 2004, Honda-powered cars won 14 of 16 IRL events, including the
Indianapolis 500, and claimed the IRL Manufacturers' Championship, Drivers' Championship and Rookie of the Year titles.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article Honda.
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