Highs + Lows by Roderick Eime

Honda Magazine â&#x20AC;˘ honda.com.au

Right on the button: with all-new Honda Insight, green is for go!

Honda Magazine â&#x20AC;˘ honda.com.au

Story on page 6

Honda Magazine • honda.com.au

– a landmark for us in its own way, and a memorable occasion for all of the people who contribute to each issue and appreciate your response. It seemed the ideal opportunity to look back on some of Honda’s iconic cars and bikes, but also to look forward to some of the exciting developments in the pipeline. So this issue presents, very clearly, the two faces of Honda: a company that owes much of its worldwide reputation to racing, whether on two wheels or four, but also a company that prizes the planet we live on and is making enormous strides in creating environmentally-friendly vehicles that will enhance human mobility in the 21st century.

ISSUE

That dual nature is summed up in two of the cars we present here. The star of this issue is Insight, the second-generation of Honda’s first hybrid car. We think you will find much of Honda’s heritage in the sleek lines of the new Insight, an expression of the present in the levels of comfort and driving pleasure it offers, and a keen awareness of the future in its refined and improved hybrid engine system. Insight sums up the essence of what we at Honda call ‘2020 Vision’: the insight into the automotive future in which Honda plans to remain a major force. We see high-quality, efficient and affordable vehicles as the key to responsible social mobility into the 21st century. It is a vision of a hybrid future in the short term while Honda invests in the research and development of new technologies for the medium and longer term. Still very much a star in the Honda galaxy is the NSX, the ‘supercar’ with which the company brought the 20th century to a resounding close: a hand-finished thoroughbred that encapsulated the dreams of Honda’s dedicated engineers and gave shape to their race-bred philosophy. NSX distilled the essence of Honda for an earlier time.

That spirit lives on in the more modest but exhilarating form of the Civic Type R in which Eli Evans has driven such a spirited campaign in the 2010 Australian Rally Championship, another feat we celebrate in these pages. The Type R, of course, is a twowheel-drive machine. Also on two wheels is a new star recruit for Honda, and what an exciting signing he is! That’s Casey Stoner, the 2007 MotoGP World Champion who in 2011 will return to race with Honda, and we bring you Casey’s first impressions of the bike he will be riding next season. Two wheels are the key to Honda’s Dream Team, the high-class quintet of female cyclists doing us proud here in Australia. We have brought the company’s philosophy and those cyclists together by sponsoring the Insight Grand Prix Series to finish off another remarkable year. All those stories and more are in this special edition. Maybe turning 50 is not such a bad thing after all.

Lindsay Smalley Senior Director, Honda Australia

SUMMER

2010

WELCOME

HEADLINES

AN INSIGHTFUL PIECE

All-New Honda Insight

HIGHS AND LOWS • Adventure

GALA GRANT GIVES HELPING HAND Honda Foundation

A WARM HAND FOR THE ALFRED Honda Foundation IMAGINE NEPAL • Travel

22 24

COLLISION COURSE • Honda Safety

FULL CIRCLE • Honda Sponsorship

REMEMBERING AMY • Honda Sponsorship

WHISKY GALORE • Profile

HOUSE OF DREAMS • Honda History

WHAT’S IN A NAME? • Iconic Hondas

THE NEW FACE OF HONDA • Iconic Hondas 44 NO ORDINARY... CAR? • Iconic Hondas

ONE SPECIAL M • Iconic Hondas

NEW STONER AGE • Honda MotoGP

ELI WANTS MORE • Honda Rally

NUMBER 99 BRINGS DARIO NUMBER 3 Honda IndyCar SHOWROOM • The Complete Honda Range

DEALERS • Honda Dealers

Average Net Distribution 1 April to 30 September 2010 157,140

6 14 Keep in touch at the touch of a button: check out Honda’s website at honda.com.au for all the latest on model changes, media releases, and all that’s new in the world of Honda.

Editor Stuart Sykes, ScotSport Executive Editor Mark Higgins Art Director Chris Payne Account Director Stuart Wilson Design, Art & Print Production Mightyworld Honda Magazine Editorial Office: Suite 101 34 Queens Road Melbourne VIC 3004. Tel: 03 9820 9942 Email: stuart@mightyworld.com.au For general enquiries regarding Honda motor vehicle products or services, contact Honda Australia. Tel: 03 9285 5555 Email: hondamag@ hondathemagazine.com.au Neither Honda Australia nor the magazine’s editorial staff accept responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or illustrations. They will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. We reserve the right to edit all correspondence for publication. The views expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of Honda Australia.

20 38 ENVI Carbon Neutral paper is an Australian Government certified Greenhouse Friendly™ Product.

Honda Magazine • honda.com.au

A special welcome to the 50th edition of the Honda Magazine

A d v e n t u r e | S T O R Y R O D

IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti escapes the high-powered world of elite motor sport for a fun dare – to ride, drive, walk and float between Australia’s highest and lowest points.

E I M E • P I C S M I C H A E L

Honda Magazine • honda.com.au

W E A R N E

“What on earth was that?!”

Lake Eyre

Coober Pedy

Marree

Wilpena Pound

Broken Hill

Peterborough

Mildura Canberra

Honda Magazine • honda.com.au

Yarrawonga

Kosciuszko

“They just ran out in front me,” said Dario in his incongruously thick Scottish accent, “are they stupid?” “Yep,” replied Mark, matter-of-fact. Mark is Mark Higgins, National Public Relations manager for Honda Australia and he knows that despite the fun of the adventure in the unusually verdant Australian outback, his good mate must be returned in perfect working order to complete a rigorous test program for triple championship-winning Target Chip Ganassi’s 2011 campaign. More at home in his Honda V8-powered IndyCar at over 300kmh on the back straight at the “brickyard”, Franchitti has accepted Higgins’ challenge to drive from Australia’s highest point, Mt Kosciuszko (2228m) to the lowest point, Lake Eyre (15m below sea level). Instead of some break-neck

Franchitti revelled in the traffic-free alpine roads, punting both the Type R and Accord Euro along effortlessly without so much as a tyre squeak

Cannonball Run, this will be a leisurely tour, taking in some of the country’s scenic highlights en route. Fresh from a season’s end celebrity drive at the Gold Coast, Dario arrived in Canberra for the start of the highspirited, low octane adventure which would begin with a small fleet of Honda four wheel vehicles: an Accord VTi-L, sporty Accord Euro, racey Civic Type R and two CRVs, one towing a trailer. The very visible Canberra start was celebrated with a ceremonial cutting of the parliament house lawn with specially prepared Honda Buffalo Buck lawnmowers. Bemused locals craned for a better view as the 4-Stroke GCV160 OHV/OHC engines hummed almost silently in front of the country’s most important building. En route to the top of Australia and accompanied by a hand-picked band of motoring journalists, Franchitti revelled in the traffic-free alpine roads, punting both the Type R and Accord Euro along effortlessly without so much as a tyre squeak. “It looks like Switzerland... it looks like Scotland... it looks like...,” quipped Franchitti as the landscapes morphed from snow-covered alps to eucalypt forest to lush pasture. Yet greater contrasts lay ahead.

As the mountains gave way to river valleys, little towns and hamlets like Jindabyne, Corryong, Tallangatta and Khancoban played host to the anonymous racing star as he sampled local gourmet cuisine and simple fare alike. His most common request? Bundaberg Ginger Beer. “Damn fine brew that,” said Dario, a refreshed countenance washing across his three-day stubble. Despite visiting Australia annually for over a decade, Franchitti has seen little of the countryside besides the inside of his Gold Coast hotel and the early morning walk to the racetrack. His fleeting moments of inter-season downtime are usually taken up “shutting down” around his ranch in Tennessee or on an island resort somewhere secret and secluded with partner Ashley Judd. Away from the track, Franchitti also spends some time with his other distraction, a car collection that would have any boy salivating. A rare Porsche Carrera GT and Ferrari F40 among his favourites, but here along the peaceful riverside byways, there’s plenty of time to chat and just enjoy the drive.

Honda Magazine • honda.com.au

The excited call came from beneath the visor of a crash helmet. The visor flicked open, revealing the face of Dario Franchitti, 2010 Indianapolis 500 winner and current IndyCar champion, eyes as wide as plastic picnic plates. “That mate, was an emu, closely followed by another emu!” explains Mark, “and it’s that second one you have to watch out for.” After twelve intense months imprisoned within the concrete, Armco and bitumen of the world’s racetracks, the last thing you expect to see is a couple of wild 6-foot flightless pedestrians making a clumsy attempt to cross the road in front of your Honda motorcycle.

“I’m goin’ back again to Yarrawonga” sang Slim Dusty and if there is one thing to bring you back to this Victorian town on the iconic Murray River, it’s Lake Mulwala and its bounty of Golden Perch and Murray Cod. In 1935 a weir was constructed to dam the Murray, creating Lake Mulwala and flooding a redwood forest thus creating an artificial environment for these mighty native fish. “Those ghostly trunks sticking up out of the lake created an incredible sight I won’t forget,” remarked Dario, “It was like fishing in a haunted forest.” Dario blessed the Honda 150 outboards that power the two Riverina Sport Fishing fast boats with his signature. This gesture assured his success and despite spending half his time dozing under the warm spring sun, he snatched the prize catch of the day, a 3kg cod.

A layday in Mildura was supposed to be a familiarisation for the big Varadero and Transalp adventure bikes, but constant rain kept the team confined to barracks, nervously eyeing the heavens. Faith and some secret prayers paid off, and the sun fought through for the lads’ departure for the final leg to Lake Eyre and Coober Pedy. Four bikes followed by the two faithful CRVs headed out toward Broken Hill, Peterborough and Wilpena Pound. Under a star-emblazoned night sky, the team spent their first night under canvas while circus master and road planner Geoffrey stunned them with succulent steak and choice Rutherglen red wine. Power and lighting for the camp was supplied by the near-silent 2 Kva Honda generator. The tents, while generous and practical, lacked effective sound-proofing, hence some members were alerted to their raucous nocturnal habits over bacon and eggs the next morning. New tenting arrangements were hurriedly planned. Out of the rugged splendour of the Flinders Ranges, the entourage headed out onto the stark flat plains, following the vanishing route of the first Ghan railway, now rerouted further to the west. Past abandoned sidings, forlorn iron bridges and derelict water towers, it was hard to imagine that just 30 years ago, trains still made the slow journey to Alice Springs via

Oodnadatta. The route is decorated with imaginative scrap sculptures and the former railway town of Marree even displays three stranded locomotives left behind after the tracks were torn up. The pub and petrol station are about the only activity these days. Out of Marree, the convoy was now officially on the Oodnadatta Track, a road traversed almost as a pilgrimage by 4WDers and off roaders. With water filling the normally arid Lake Eyre an added attraction, transient water birds and eager tourists alike were flocking to this once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon. In a twist of irony, Franchitti’s planned ride along the lake’s surface was thwarted for the same reason as countryman, Donald Campbell, in 1964. His land speed record attempt in the jet-powered Bluebird was postponed because the lake was full of water. The flip side is that the Lake Eyre Yacht Club actually launched their boats for the first time in 25 years and even held a regatta. After a frenzy of celebratory photos, back-slapping, high-fiving and kicking a footy on a 200km dry section of Lake Eyre South, the team heads to the fabled William Creek Hotel. Camp was set up at Coward Springs, another old Ghan rail station, complete with a natural spa.

The challenge complete, the team relax at another tent camp beside remote Lake Caddibarrawirracanna, on the world’s largest cattle station, for a day before the final road leg into Coober Pedy. “This place is amazing,” remarked Dario at the utter isolation, the flickering flames gently illuminating the eight ‘explorers’ around their campfire, “apart from the flies and a certain someone’s snoring!” Shooting stars streaked across the vivid night sky, while satellites crept imperceptibly between the planets and distant stars. Dario knew that within a few short days he’d be back strapped into his Kevlar and carbon fibre cockpit, a howling Honda V8 hurling him down the track but, he assures us, his memories of the vast Australian outback will be there to take him away from all that. l

For more on Dario’s IndyCar exploits go to page 54

Honda Magazine • honda.com.au

despite visiting Australia annually for over a decade, Franchitti has seen little of the countryside besides the inside of his Gold Coast hotel and the early morning walk to the racetrack