HONDA RACING'S PROVEN RECORD 2004 A WINNING SEASON FOR UNIT.

Byline: Eugene Tong Staff Writer

VALENCIA - Behind the nondescript doors of Honda Performance Development's Valencia headquarters are the secrets to design and horsepower that allowed its drivers to nearly sweep the 2004 IndyCar Series with three major championships.

But you won't hear much about that from Robert Clarke, vice president and general manager of American Honda Motor Co.'s racing subsidiary. Anonymity is prized in the secretive world of motor sport design and development - one reason HPD left Honda's U.S. headquarters in Torrance and moved to Valencia more than a decade ago.

Formed in 1992, HPD only provided local engineering and maintenance support for the Japanese auto giant's motor sports division. The company moved north a year later.

``Top management felt we were kind of a distraction,'' Clarke said in a recent interview. ``Racing is kind of a different world. We work odd hours and work away from the majority of our colleagues.''

There's also the matter of personnel, he added.

``A majority of this kind of racing happens in the Midwest. That's where we do a lot of our hiring, and to drop them in the middle of L.A. would be culture shock.''

In 2002, the division assumed design and development for Honda's Indy Racing program. These featherweight open wheel machines are basically ``engines on wheels,'' Clarke said.

``We were going to be R&D,'' he said. ``Now we're in charge of our own destiny. ... It was the first time engine design for Honda is done in the U.S.''

Their work paid off in the 2004 season, with three major Indy Racing League wins - the manufacturer's championship, drivers' championship and rookie of the year - and taking 14 out of 16 races.

The company also is expanding into a top research and development facility for other kinds of racing, including boats and motocross, and is slated in February to move to a new headquarters down the road that's about three times the size its existing 43,500-square-foot facility. Staff is expected to grow from 116 to 150.

``It's a running target,'' Clarke said. ``Every race, you and your competitors are striving to improve on the product.''

For automakers, racing is a forum where new technologies are tried and tested. For example, Honda developed the VTEC engine control for Formula One racing, then applied it to consumer models.

But Clarke also credits Honda Motor Co. founder Soichiro Honda - a racing enthusiast who died in 1991 at age 81 - with the company's commitment to motor sports.

``He believed you can develop and train people in the most difficult environment,'' Clarke said. ``If you can excel in racing, you can excel in everything.

``Most companies, you race on Sunday and sell on a Monday - it's a marketing objective.''

And winning a race takes a lot of good people and teamwork, Clarke said.

``We all drive our cars really fast,'' he said. ``But it's a whole different thing to drive a car as fast as you possibly to a point where you're not feeling comfortable.

``It's got to be tuned, the driver had to be talented, the engineers have to be capable, ... it's that total package. It has to be the best of everything or you're not going to win ... and winning is everything.''

Eugene Tong, [phone]

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

(color) Robert Clarke, head of Honda Performance Development, is proud of the awards the team has won in 2004.

David Crane/Staff Photographer