Honda Thank You Day

Another highlight was when the open-wheel cars came out. This group included the 2007 factory Honda RA107 Formula One car (with Jensen Button behind the wheel), the Super Aguri SA07 F1 car (driven by Takuma Sato) and the Panasonic Racing Honda-powered IRL Indycar (with Kosuke Matsuura driving). Even though there's only a claimed 50bhp difference between the F1 machines and the IRL car, it soon became apparent that the F1 cars are much, much quicker. Within the first lap, the IRL car was left in the dust. At one point, Button buzzed the pit wall with the RA107 at full throttle. I've never seen a car accelerate that fast out of a turn and the high-revving V8's wail still sends shivers down my spine whenever I think about it.

For the grand finale, Honda brought everything out: all the Super GT cars, road racing motorcycles, historic cars and open-wheel cars. Everyone did two fast laps around the outer ring of Motegi's super speedway. It was pure pandemonium and fantastically enjoyable. There were racecars and road race bikes buzzing next to each other. At one point Shinya Nakano (on his Moto GP bike) pulled a wheelie next to Button's F1 machine. Both were probably doing at least 100mph.

With the release of the mighty Nissan GT-R to the US market, you might be thinking it's about time the Japanese released their best stuff overseas. I hate to break it to you, but they're still keeping the best for themselves. Honda has decided to keep this Thank You Day exclusively for the Japanese market. So if you consider yourself a Honda fanatic, a Mugen-head, or just a race fan in general, you have to include this event on your 'must see before I die' list and make the pilgrimage to Motegi. You won't regret it.