Currently reading: Honda goes for Bonneville F1 record
Honda goes for Bonneville F1 record

Honda F1’s Bonneville 400 team is to make an attempt on the F1 land speed record next week at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA.

Originally scheduled for last October, the attempt was postponed due to heavy rain, which left much of the salt flats under water. A shakedown run at the Mojave airfield in California last November did, however, result in a new unofficial top speed of 413.205km/h (256.765mph).

Getting the race-legal F1 car ready to travel beyond 400km/h on the salt flats has been a big challenge for Honda – the surface is unstable and unpredictable. The man with the biggest challenge is probably driver Alan van der Merwe, but this 26-year-old South African is remarkably relaxed about the record attempt: ‘Everybody is so well prepared that I don’t feel any apprehension,” he said.

Closer to home, Autocar will be making an attempt on the London speed record this weekend. Log on to Autocar.co.uk on Sunday to find out how it went.

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