Always looking for an advantage that would power his team to Victory Lane, Starworks Motorsport team owner Peter Baron has opted to switch to Honda engines for his No. 78 Riley Daytona Prototype (DP) chassis, beginning with the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida on March 15 at Sebring International Raceway.
The team tested the new 3.5-liter twin turbocharged Honda Performance Development (HPD) engine for the first time last week at the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship test at Sebring. It performed flawlessly.
“No doubt, there’s work we have to do, but there’s promise that it’s going to be a good package,” Baron said. “Mating the engine with the Riley DP chassis was not difficult. Riley Technologies did the engineering and design work that helped with the installation. Making the engine perform is the next step.
“It’s pretty difficult taking a turbo installation and putting it in a place where we ran a simple V-8 before,” Baron said. “The major challenge is heat management. The turbos are 1,800 degrees or so, and it’s a lot of work getting all the heat out of the car to make it perform right.”
Honda reported no problems during the initial test.
“We successfully completed the shakedown with Starworks Motorsport of the Honda HR35TT engine,” said Roger Griffiths, Technical Director, Honda Performance Development. “From this initial test, we have a list of development items to address ahead of the Sebring race week, which will keep us all busy. We have been very pleased with the cooperation of all parties – including IMSA and our team partner Starworks – in getting the new engine package together in such a short span of time.”
While this is the engine’s first application in a DP chassis, Starworks is no stranger to the turbocharged Honda power plant. The team partnered with HPD in 2012 to run a Honda HR28TT twin turbo, a 2.8-liter version of the current engine, both of which are derived from Honda’s J35 series of engines. Starworks won the LMP2 class in 2012 at Le Mans and Sebring, also becoming the first American team in 46 years to capture a prototype title in the World Endurance Championship (WEC).
“That engine was a smaller version of the one we’re currently using, but all the parts are basically the same,” Baron said. “The intercoolers, turbos, the waste gate and engine management are the same.”
EJ Viso, Scott Mayer and Alex Popow tested the new Honda at the recent test, and may drive the car in the upcoming race. Starworks is also fielding a pair of Prototype Challenge (PC) cars in the TUDOR Championship.
“Everyone who drove was very enthusiastic about the new Honda,” Baron said. “They were enthusiastic about how the power came on. The biggest adjustment for the drivers is the small bit of turbo lag. It takes a smidgen for the power to spool up, so the drivers have to adjust the points where they get on the gas pedal a little sooner.”
In addition to its 2012 success in the WEC, Starworks fielded a contending DP in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series from 2010-13. The team had a breakthrough year in 2012, winning at Indianapolis and Watkins Glen. Last year, Starworks scored its second consecutive victory at Indianapolis among six podium finishes.
The Starworks car is the first turbocharged Honda to power a DP. Beyer Racing ran a normally aspirated Honda in a Riley chassis in two events in 2009 for drivers Jordan Taylor and Jared Beyer.
Baron has switched engines in-season before – moving from Ford to BMW in 2013 – and now feels that Honda is his best option.
“We have all the confidence in the world in this motor,” he said. “The next couple of races should get better and better for us, and I think each race should be more promising.”