Originally Posted by Marc Lachapelle

Honda-Michelin at the GP
From The Racer's Seat
By Marc Lachapelle

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The Honda/Michelin race at the Canadian Grand Prix, on Montreal's Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, has always given the huge crowd fabulous battles and plenty of action, but the best seat is in one of these Civics, as I was lucky to find out again this year, strapped into car #00.

In the perfect race, all drivers would be aboard rigorously identical cars, and the outcome would be decided by talent, guts, concentration, technique and the best strategy. Nothing else.
Many a racing series and organization has strived for this ever-elusive goal of achieving perfect mechanical 'parity' between drivers. In this quest, few have been as successful as Honda Canada, with its famous Honda/Michelin series.

A First Stint of 17 Years
The idea of a racing series for highly-affordable and identically-prepared small cars first crystallized in the mind of former top Québec racing journalist Gilles Bourcier, back in 1975: "One day, while attending an auto club meeting, I saw a short film entitled 'A Bunch of 5s' or something like that: It had incredible action footage from a racing series in the U.K. that ran a whole swarm of these Renault 5s on race tracks. I immediately thought: That's it; this is what we need here."

After testing a number of small cars at the Sanair race track, including the Renault 5, then very popular in Québec, Bourcier and some racing-savvy friends came to the conclusion that the tiny Honda Civic was the best-suited, the most reliable and the most durable for their purposes: "That was a good thing, because Honda was the only carmaker to come up with a solid proposal!"

The new series was launched the following year, in 1976, under the name Le Volant Québécois and was an immediate hit. The first champion on record was top veteran racer and auto dealer Jacques Bienvenue, who later turned to auto journalism.

The second-year champ, in 1977, was none other than Jacques Villeneuve, the elder, whose legendary brother Gilles also contested some of the events in one of the tiny Civics, on the very eve of his Formula 1 career début with Ferrari.

The series was renamed Honda / BF Goodrich in 1978, and Michelin took over as series co-sponsor and exclusive tire supplier in 1983.

The series subsequently expanded to include separate championships for the East and West in 1986, and went truly 'national' in 1988, when the Western series was officially recognized. Both ran strong until 1992, when Honda Canada pulled out, in order to 'allocate its resources' differently in what had become a highly-competitive market.

Rebirth of a Series
After an eleven-year hiatus, Honda Canada decided to revive the storied series for the 2004 season, to the immediate joy of a number of series veterans. Racers, old hands and newcomers alike, contested 10 events last year, in Ontario and Québec, aboard identical Civic DX coupes.

As always, the cars' basic preparation was performed by Honda Canada and the racers bought them from a friendly neighbourhood dealer. The current coupe's 1,668 cc engine's stock output rating is 115 hp at 6100 rpm, but it gets a few extra horses, thanks to the mandated racing exhaust system, made by series co-sponsor Bosal.

The engine gets a number of 'seals' that are designed to prevent any modification and keep the playing field as level as possible, on the torque-and-horsepower side. A highly-detailed rule book covers numerous other technical areas, in the same spirit. And it gets enforced.

Typically, the greatest on-track performance gains on the Civics come from the wider and grippier tires, and any suspension enhancement.

Most of the other modifications are safety-related: They include stripping the interior bare - except for the instrument panel and 'rear package shelf' - and then adding a full tubular roll cage, an FIA-approved racing seat with 5-point racing harness, an integrated fire extinguisher system, a window net, aluminium door panels, and emergency master switch, and other related bits.

The series tackled the 2005 season with some important technical upgrades. The most important were new suspension components that were designed and tuned specifically for the racing Civic by the top-tier racing department at Multimatic, in Ontario. The cars also got stickier Michelin Pilot Sport Cup racing tires, size 205/50 R15, a new freer-flowing exhaust system, and upgraded brake components by Hawk, another co-sponsor.

The first of these changes was made to reduce body roll and, consequently, tire wear. But, along with the added traction from the new tires, it also improved the cars' ultimate handling and balance.

Just consider that these 'enhancements' along with the slightly better engine performance (nicer sound too) and stronger brakes, helped eventual race winner Didier Schraenen put his Civic on pole position with a time of 1:42.447s, at the opening round of the 2005 series, on the famed Mosport race track. This was a whole 4 seconds quicker than in the 2004 series opener, on the same track, an enormous improvement.

Still, the new suspension's most precious gain is the vastly greater adjustability it provides, as I was to soon find out.

Very Occasional Racer Returns
I took part in the original Honda/Michelin series back in 1988, although very briefly. In my (very late) auto racing début, I competed in only two 'national' events that year, the very first during the Grand Prix of Canada weekend, on Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. Believe me, though, it was more than enough to discover how serious and hotly-contested this single-make series was.

I was also fortunate to drive Honda Canada's 'guest car' in 1989 and 1990, on the equally famous Mont-Tremblant and Trois-Rivières race tracks: Had a ball, both times. Having just about none of the hard preparation work to do certainly did help, I admit.

So when the invite came to race Honda's newest # 00 car this year, during the Grand Prix weekend, did the answer ever come quickly.

Since I had last raced five years ago - also on Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve during the big GP weekend - I needed to get a full medical, to revive my ASN-FIA racing licence. In fact, I basically renewed my entire safety gear. To clear tech inspection, I needed a new Snell 95-approved helmet, but also one of the newly-mandatory Hans devices (for Head And Neck Support).

This strange-looking piece, crafted from high-tech carbon fibre - in the shape of a small horse collar with a vertical pane in the back - wraps around the driver's neck and rests on the shoulders so that it can be clamped down tightly under the wide racing belts. All drivers in F1, and in many other series, now wear them.

The Hans device is attached to the helmet by ballistic nylon straps and metal fittings. A tip of my new helmet to young gun Nick Wittmer, one of the top drivers in the new series, who took out his drill and did an impeccable job of installing the sturdy metal anchors to my 'protective headwear'. Just in time for the race, too.

Precious Track Time
Honda's 'guest car' is a nice piece at first glance, with its royal blue hood, bright red hind quarters, and the chequered flag motif splashed on its flanks, all on a shiny black background.

Inside, though, it's all business: stark, black and filled with metal tubing of varied diameter forming the full roll cage. Including one that runs straight across the instrument panel, the last remaining trim piece inside, along with the rear 'parcel shelf': Everything else is bare metal. On the right side of the floor is a stainless steel container with pressurized tubes that is the heart of the racing extinguisher system.

On the left side, I swing open the aluminium door panel and climb over a stack of three big tubular members, designed to protect the driver in the event of a side impact. I do my best to contort and squeeze into the deepest, narrowest Recaro racing seat I have ever seen. I sure won't move around in there.

With the help of chief mechanic Rob Duncan and assistant, Rob Beattie, I adjust the seat, the belts and the wheel. Soon, I'm off to the false grid for the 30-minute practice session on Friday morning.

My plan is to gradually get reacquainted with the track while exploring the car's handling. Everything comes back quickly, and the Civic runs quite well, but later in the session, I start getting some brake fade, mostly while trying to slow down from almost 150 km/h for the East hairpin, the tightest part of the 4.361-km track. The pedal gets real hard and I get a few smoky braking points and feel a touch of flat-spotting on the tires. Good for the spectators, not for my lap times.

Still, I'm satisfied to get the 9th best time out of the 19 cars on track, but I'm a big 3.4 seconds off the pace of the fastest guy out there: defending series champ Steven Laporte.

Qualifying Quandaries
I get debriefed by John Sherk, a former top racer who is the series' Technical Director. John is my 'race engineer' for this adventure in the 'Double O' car. He decrees several changes and tweaks the car's suspension and brakes for the half-hour qualifying session, set for late afternoon.

It's sunny and plenty hot, the track perfectly dry, as we file out of the F1 pits onto the track to qualify. I start out following Matt Champagne, a 20-year old graduate of kart racing who is one of the best of the series rookies this year.

We ran almost identical times in the first session, but I get a chance to pass Matt and I do, only to realize that I am now running solo. Not the best strategy in qualifying.

The top drivers are very crafty about working together and using the draft to get the best possible time in qualifying. After a few laps of this, I slow down and try to hitch up with a group of fast guys.

A small pack comes up from behind. I speed up and soon manage to keep pace - well, almost - with Frédérick Lelièvre. I realize, among other things, that he is much more aggressive on the tall speed bumps lining the inside of the turns, his Civic lifting its inside wheels. I try it on the next lap: Wow, that's fun.

I qualify 10th, but my quickest lap was the second one. If there's a next time, I'll be smart and work with another driver throughout. Maybe Matt.

After qualifying, I tell John Sherk that there was still quite a bit of brake fade late in the session, and that the car felt increasing 'loose' in fast corners. He takes notes.

Getting Set and Scrubbing In
Things run like clockwork at the Grand Prix. They must.

On race day, Saturday, I drink plenty of water before strapping in and leaving the paddock for the 'false grid'. We race at 2:30 pm and it's plenty hot and humid: about 35C degrees (95 F) ambient, with 51C degrees (124 F) at track level.

For the race, John Sherk and his guys have changed the front brake pads to a higher-temperature compound and chosen to put brand-new 'sticker' tires on the front, in spite of the lack of prior 'scrubbing-in' and the probable loss of grip when they would get hot for the first time during the race.

John has fine-tuned the damping and tires pressures, and gives me specific instructions on how to bed the new brake pads in, and how to bring the tires up to snuff during the parade and 'warm-up' laps. It involves sharp swerving: "As if you wanted to spin the car out", Sherk said.

I follow John's instructions meticulously, thankfully don't spin out, and roll up to spot #10 on the grid. In the meantime, I try a few clutch starts to find the best engine revs to get just enough wheel-spin, because this will be my first-ever standing start.

The Big Moment
The five red lights fire up in succession: I bring the revs up to 4000, the lights go blank, I step off the clutch and I'm off. Twenty odd years of performance testing pay off: I get a solid launch and immediately manage to steer around to the right of cars that touch and go sideways in Senna corner, just in front of me.

My goal is simple: as the 'guest driver' of someone else's race car, I would love to get a single-digit finish, in this fast company, and bring back an immaculate car. If this was my Civic, I would probably be more aggressive.

Instead, I stick with my plan and try my best to use 'drafting' to keep up with the fast guys, while staying clear of trouble. A few laps into the race, I let former three-time series champ Normand Boyer by pointing to the right. Boyer missed his qualifying session because of a brake line failure, and Series Director Ralph Luciw had given me a clear hint that he would be charging back up.

Ironically, I would eventually finish a few metres ahead of Boyer, who had received a 'drive-through' penalty for some over-enthusiastic passing.

Earlier on, while leading Matt Champagne, I close up on Kuno Wittmer, who had qualified 9th, his Civic seemingly down on power. As I coming up on him quickly, with the draft, on the track's longest straightaway, where the coupes will touch 180 km/h, Kuno moves way off line to the right, much to my surprise.

With the momentum, I have little choice but to pass him, but a handful of seconds later, I come to the braking point a little too hot, and choose to go left of the huge cement speed bump instead of risking serious damage or - worse - flipping the car.

I decide to lift and let Kuno take back that position, to avoid any penalty (car #00 doesn't score points anyway). The lost momentum is enough to let Matt Champagne move by too.

The rest of my race is spent chasing that young man, to finally cross the line 0.471 second behind him, good for 7th place in the final results. The race is won by Nick Wittmer, who went wire-to-wire, ahead of Laporte, Schraenen and 2004 Rookie of the Year Alex Penfold. Kuno Wittmer finished 5th.

John Sherk and his team gave a car that ran strong, handled impeccably and showed not a trace of brake fade right to the end of that 14-lap race. Thanks, guys. I felt like a factory driver for a couple of days.

Back in the paddock, in the sweltering heat, that cool beer tasted just as good as the best champagne.

Two-Tier Series Likely in 2006
The next season should bring exciting developments to the Honda/Michelin series. With the introduction of an all-new Civic for 2006 - including two coupe models - the general plan would be to run two 'classes' in substance, as was the case in 1988 when I had my brief fling in the series: One for the all-new 2006 coupe, and one for the current car.

This would assuredly make for a bigger entry list than the 20 odd cars running this year: "We think that several potential entrants are waiting for the new car," says Ralph Luciw, who had been hoping to see a filed of about thirty cars already this year.

The two-class transition period would also likely create opportunities for young new drivers to get their hands on some current cars at good prices, as the top drivers move to the new machine.

Hot New Racing Coupe in The Works?
There is even serious talk about Honda Canada dropping the all-new 2006 Civic Si's 200-hp engine in the lighter and less expensive body destined to the 'base' coupe, right in the Alliston plant, where the Civic is built.

The operation would produce a few dozen strictly-identical, lean-bodied race cars reserved for Honda/Michelin series entrants.

Now that would truly be something: A stylish racing coupe with double the horsepower - thanks to Honda's exceptional and pioneering engine technology - destined for a series with a rich history.

My fingers are crossed.