Robert Clarke, who heads up Honda/Acura motorsports efforts, is a happy man these days. His three Acura factory-backed LMP2 ALMS entries are doing very well in American Le Mans Series competition, a fact he confirmed during our recent talk at the ALMS event at Lime Rock Park, Conn.

Clarke, 57, joined American Honda in 1981 in the motorcycle accessory and product planning departments after spending five years as a professor of art and architecture at the University of Notre Dame. He also spent three years as a designer at motorcycle accessory manufacturer Vetter Corporation.

“This is just the beginning for Acura in ALMS. We’ll hopefully move into the ALMS LMP1 class based on our success in LMP2, and this is our overall goal. I also enjoy the numerous and diverse manufacturers that compete in ALMS.” — Robert Clarke

A true gentleman in the racing circles and no stranger to this column or NSSN pages, Clarke was named General Manager of Honda Performance Development when the company established its racing division in April 1993. HPD named him company president in April 2005.

Located in Santa Clarita, Calif., approximately 30 miles north of Los Angeles, HPD employs 120 and operates out of a 123,000-square-foot building that houses comprehensive engine research and development, prototype and production parts manufacturing, engine preparation, analysis, dyno/test cells, a machine shop, a parts center and administrative offices.
What Clarke is most pleased about is the fact that in 20 years of Acura history, the Acura LMP2 prototype initiative is Acura’s first full factory-backed motorsports program. The luxury brand of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. fields three Acura-powered LMP2 entries, two utilizing the company’s own 3.4-liter V-8 engine and new Acura designed versions of original Courage chassis design.

Making its competition debut at Sebring in March, Clarke watched as Acura won its class, placing first, second and fourth in LMP2 and second and third, overall. At Lime Rock, Acura finished third overall behind the two Penske Porsches, and at this past weekend's event, finished fourth overall and third in class, with Penske Porsches going 1-2 overall again.
A longtime SCCA racer, Clarke sometimes campaigns in vintage events. As for the ALMS Acura effort, it is difficult for Clarke to hide his enthusiasm.

“This is just the beginning for Acura in ALMS,” said Clarke. “We’ll hopefully move into the ALMS LMP1 class based on our success in LMP2, and this is our overall goal. I also enjoy the numerous and diverse manufacturers that compete in ALMS.”
Clarke’s statement alludes to “what is lacking” in the IRL IndyCar Series, where his 3.5-liter Honda V-8 engines power all of the entries through the 2009 season. He more appreciates the true manufacturer-versus-manufacturer atmosphere that ALMS offers, yet he admits the IRL has both positives and negatives.

“Well, we win every race in the IRL, but we power the losers, too.”

Clarke noted that the marketing of the high-end Acura brand, an outgrowth of Honda to better compete with rivals Nissan/Infiniti and Toyota/Lexus, is about to change.

“Acura is available only in North America, but we will be expanding the marketing of the Acura brand in both China and Japan soon.”

He explained that competing in ALMS gives Acura the opportunity to experiment and develop its high-tech technology with the prototype entries, but perhaps not in the usual manner some people think. As for Honda and Acura road cars benefiting from the ALMS racing technology, Clarke explains how it works.

“Technology is passed on to our consumer-driven road cars through what I call ‘fallout.’ In that I mean we don't specifically do R&D in racing to better our road cars per se, but the benefit does eventually transfer to the dealership. When we hit on something that can improve our road cars, and better protect and/or enhance the consumer experience, we’ll pass it on to our assembly plants,” Clarke admitted.

He further explains that unlike the Honda 3.5-liter V-8 Indy Series engine, where the company shares a “50-50” assembly agreement with Ilmor engines in Europe, the entire ALMS racing 3.4-liter V-8 is a 100-percent HPD effort.

Clarke further notes that the aforementioned chassis used by two of the three Acura teams (the Courage) are officially Acura following much tweaking, retooling and redesign. Former Simtek Formula One team owner and Benetton chief designer Nick Wirth receives credit for re-working the French Courage LC75s chassis into the Acura motif.

“We call our chassis the ARX-01a, and if you want to win in LMP1, you’ll need a manufacturer-specific chassis to do so,” said Clarke. “When we move into the LMP1 class, we’ll certainly use our own designed, developed and tested Acura chassis.”
In ending, the last time we queried Clarke in early 2006, we asked if perhaps HPD might one day take delivery of some Holley carburetors, hinting to a Honda move into NASCAR style racing where engines utilize Holley carbs.

“I remember your asking me that, and I said back then ‘Never say never.’ But to be very honest, at this point, Holley carburetors are still not welcome at HPD’s R&D headquarters,” Clarke joked. “If they show up, we’ll send them back. It’s our way of saying that we are more interested in a higher-tech form of racing.”