Entry for Round One of the 2011 Motul HondaCup on May 29th on the short course at Taupo is now open and the very big news is that entry is just $100 for a day that will include qualifying, a scratch race, a reverse top ten race AND a handicap race!

Better still, if you need a transponder, then they will be available at just $30. With cheap accommodation available in abundance at Taupo at this time of year, the Motul HondaCup has demonstrated as it promised its clear intent to provide the best value motorsport in New Zealand. And there's more...the first 25 entries will receive a Motul cap (probably the nicest motorsport caps out there) AND a Motul T-shirt. You'll need to be quick, but it's worth it - the Motul stuff is awesome.

The racing takes place on May 29th (Sunday) but the day before Taupo Car Club is holding a Dual Sprint which would also be a good opportunity for track time if you are a race novice. There is a separate entry fee for this but you are not obliged to take part as it is not a Motul HondaCup championship event. Registration forms for the Motul HondaCup and entry forms and details for both Taupo days are available on the new look Motul HondaCup web site at www.hondacup.co.nz under Taupo Car Club Clubmans Entry Form (for the Motul HondaCup event on May 29th) and Taupo Car Club Dual Sprint Entry Form (For the Dual Sprint on May 28th).

A race car which has been properly prepared has many advantages but some racers tend to overlook this very important element of racing.

It's far too common to see racers wash dirt from the previous race from the car, load it on the trailer and drive off to the next race. Nothing neccessarily wrong with that BUT let's look for a moment at what happens when a car is not properly prepared. The first clue is usually the first session on track when something does not perform correctly. This may mean an early retirement from the session, sometimes an embarrassing tow back to the paddock and then a frantic spurt of work to get the car ready for the next session - and that's not much fun on a busy day of racing like the Motul HondaCup.

This process sometimes snowballs and continues throughout the day with frustrating results. Such race days are rarely either successful or enjoyable. A secondary result of improper preparation is the additional parts and supplies which are inevitably used or used up. These can be as minor as gasket sealer and safety wire or more expensive items, such as brake pads, wheel bearings, tyres and fluids etc. Getting it right the first time will ALWAYS save on these costs in the long run. It should be obvious that a third result is that a driver's finishing position will be adversely affected by the poor performance of the car.

Considering all these negative attributes, it's a mystery why so many choose to ignore proper attention to all the details on a race car which can ruin a weekend. Take the time to do it properly. In the next issue of the newsletter we'll give you a simple checklist - so watch this space!

With the significantly higher levels of interest in this year's Motul HondaCup, the organising team have launched a new web site which is cleaner and quicker to load. It retains the popular and expanding forum, which we have used primarily to get information out to our racers, and will carry images of each driver and his or her car once the first round is complete.

Entry forms and registration documents are easily accessible from the front page and previous copies of this newsletter will also be stored there and can be downloaded if for some reason you delete the original! We'll also be posting the obvious stuff on there like results and press releases too.

If you have any ideas, let us know and we'll do our best to incorproate the best of them as we move forward with the series. And if you didn't know already - the address is www.hondacup.co.nz

One day may be...one day. We all like to dream, but any Honda racing fan or driver would definitely have one of these in their fantasy garage...!

The V8, front-engined, rear-wheel-drive coupe project was touted as a replacement for the ageing NSX which had a long life in the Japanese Super GT Series. This beast has no official name, just HSV-010 GT.

Honda raced the car without offering a version of it that was road legal and for public consumption using a rule that allowed Toyota to use the Supra well after production stopped. The car is powered by a 3.4l V-8 producing 500hp and 289 ft lbs of torque. Anyone got a few million spare to get one of these for the Motul HondaCup?? Yummy!!!!