APRIL 22, 2005

Honda using Dome wind tunnel

We understand that Honda's increased involvement in British American Racing has led to the team the Dome wind tunnel in Japan in order to supplement the work being done at the team's wind tunnel facility in Brackley. The two tunnels have been modified to run exactly the same spec of model so that parts are interchangeable and the extra development appears to be helping the team to improve.

Dome founder Minoru Hayashi has been building racing cars since 1965 and the company was established in the late 1970s. Dome entered Le Mans in 1979 and built sportscars in the 1980s while Hayashi chassis were successful in Formula 3. This led to a decision in the late 1980s to build a Formula 3000 car and in 1994 Marco Apicella won the All Japan title in a Dome-Mugen and the team began talking about F1. A prototype chassis built but there was not enough money for the Kyoto-based company to enter F1.

The windtunnel however is providing a useful service, even if BAR will have a second tunnel in Brackley within the next year or so.