Honda to provide a massive stand and display at the second BBC Children in Need Car Fest (South)

Honda (UK) is revved-up to steal the show at Chris Evans’ CarFest South which will take place at Laverstoke Park Farm, Hampshire (28-30 August).

CarFest is the brainchild of popular Radio 2 presenter and new Top Gear host Evans, raising vital funds for BBC Children In Need via a family-orientated, high-octane blend of fast and exotic cars, celebrity cameos and live music from some of the hottest acts around.

Having played a leading role at last year’s events as well as at this year’s CarFest North, which took place at Oulton Park earlier this month, Honda (UK) will return to Laverstoke Park – the home of ex-Formula One World Champion Jody Scheckter – with an array of crowd-pleasing activities and displays.

A full Honda stand will showcase the newest car range in the industry, including the Civic Type R, Civic Sport, Civic Tourer, HR-V, CR-V, Jazz and – straight from the brand’s award-winning Goodwood Festival of Speed stand – the McLaren-Honda MP4-30 in a box, the model driven by F1 World Champions Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button.

Honda's two-wheeled offering has something for everyone, from the newly-launched, learner-legal CB125F, through the legendary VFR800F right up to the race-inspired CBR1000RR Fireblade.  

The new Forza 125 scooter, with its GT look and exceptional fuel economy will appeal to those wanting a striking but efficient means of transport.  

Visitors can also learn about Honda's innovative dual clutch transmission which, on bikes such as Honda's NC750X, combines the road presence and agility of a motorbike with the twist-and-go practicality of a scooter.

The ‘King of the Hell’ Xbox roadshow is also roaring into town, offering festival-goers the chance to win a brand new Civic Type R for a year provided they set the fastest time around the notorious Nürburgring Nordschleife in a state-of-the-art simulator.

Nicknamed ‘The Green Hell’ by F1 legend Sir Jackie Stewart, the 12.9-mile Nordschleife is regarded as the most challenging and daunting circuit in the world, with each lap comprising no fewer than 154 corners, large bumps, cambers and surface changes.

The British-built Civic Type R – Honda’s ‘Race Car for the Road’ and the most extreme and high-performing model ever to wear the acclaimed ‘Red H’ badge – set a new front-wheel-drive lap record there last year, and in celebration of its arrival in UK dealerships, fans are invited to test their mettle by getting as close as possible to that impressive benchmark.

Honda Yuasa Racing Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship duo Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal – currently sitting third and sixth in the title standings, with Honda atop the manufacturers’ table – will perform high-speed demonstration runs behind the wheel of the road-going Civic Type R.

Honda’s latest Robot mower – Miimo – will be a working display in the Honda activity centre and will inspire a unique children’s drawing activity, whilst many of last summer’s favourites will make a welcome return, such as My First License, a mini-motorbike taster session that introduces 5-to-11-year-old non-riders to the exciting world of motorcycling.  

Carried out in a safe, controlled and fully supervised environment on restricted 50cc Honda CRF50 bikes, complete with helmets and kneepads, My First Licence culminates in the presentation of a special licence for the kids.

The ATV Experience on Honda’s TRX420 continues the fun yet educational theme, teaching older teens the inside line on throttle control, slaloming, overcoming obstacles and balance.

Meanwhile, the ride-on lawnmowers for 16-year-olds and above is sure to generate hilarious head-to-head racing around a timed garden course, where lane control and garbage-grabbing are orders of the day.

Last but by no means least the innovative and interactive ‘Power of Lean’ demonstration will simulate Superbike-style knee-down riding, replicating the feeling of being at full power whilst almost horizontal to the ground!

Philip Crossman, Managing Director at Honda UK, commented: “CarFest South is fantastic fun for all the family and jam-packed with exciting and interactive things to do for people of all ages.  

The music line up looks fantastic – as does the food offering, much of which is sourced from Laverstoke Park itself.   We aren’t quite sure of the weather yet, so will have both wellies and flipflops on standby!”

Honda to pull out all the stops to support the CarFest 2015 events in Cheshire and Hampshire.

• Cars, stars and interactive treats galore from Honda at CarFest
• Racing fans challenged to prove they can be ‘King of the Hell’
• Activities for all ages, from five-year-olds to the young-at-heart

Honda (UK) is pulling out all the stops at Chris Evans’ two charity-focused CarFest events this summer, bringing along stars and cars, two-wheeled thrills and a range of crowd-pleasing entertainment and displays.

CarFest is the brainchild of popular Radio 2 presenter and new Top Gear host Evans, raising vital funds for BBC Children In Need via a family-oriented, high-octane blend of fast and exotic cars, celebrity cameos and live music from some of the hottest acts around.

Honda played a leading role last year and will return in 2015 to both CarFest North at Oulton Park in Cheshire (31 July – 2 August) and CarFest South at ex-Formula One World Champion Jody Scheckter’s Laverstoke Park Farm in Hampshire (28-30 August).

A full Honda stand will showcase the company’s refreshed and exciting product range, including the Civic Type R, Civic Sport, Civic Tourer, HR-V, CR-V, Jazz and – straight from the brand’s award-winning Goodwood Festival of Speed stand – the McLaren-Honda MP4-30 in a box, as driven by F1 World Champions Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button.

Highlighting Honda’s expertise on two wheels as well as four, ten motorcycles will be on display, whilst the ‘King of the Hell’ Xbox roadshow roars into town, offering festival-goers the chance to win a brand new Civic Type R for a year by setting the fastest time around the notorious Nürburgring Nordschleife in a state-of-the-art simulator.

Nicknamed ‘The Green Hell’ by F1 legend Sir Jackie Stewart, the 12.9-mile Nordschleife is regarded as the most challenging and daunting circuit in the world, with each lap comprising no fewer than 154 corners, large bumps, cambers and surface changes.

The British-built Civic Type R – Honda’s ‘Race Car for the Road’ and the most extreme and high-performing model ever to wear the acclaimed ‘Red H’ badge – set a new front-wheel-drive lap record there last year, and in celebration of its arrival in UK dealerships, fans are invited to test their mettle by getting as close as possible to that impressive benchmark.

Honda Yuasa Racing Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship duo Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal – currently sitting first and third in the title standings, with Honda comfortably atop the manufacturers’ table – will perform high-speed demonstration runs behind the wheel of both the BTCC race car and road-going Civic Type R at CarFest North, before returning to the track in the Civic Type R at CarFest South.

Honda’s latest Robot mower – Miimo – will be a working display in the Honda activity centre and will inspire a unique children’s drawing activity, whilst many of last summer’s favourites make a welcome return.

My First Licence is a mini-motorbike taster session that introduces 5-to-11-year-old non-riders to the exciting world of motorcycling on restricted 50cc Honda CRF50 bikes in a safe, controlled and fully supervised environment, complete with helmets and kneepads and culminating in the presentation of their own special licence.

The ATV Experience on Honda’s TRX420 continues the fun yet educational theme, teaching older teens the inside line on throttle control, slaloming, overcoming obstacles and balance. The ride-on lawnmowers for 16-year-olds and above, meanwhile, generated hilarious head-to-head racing last year around a timed garden course, where lane control and garbage-grabbing were the orders of the day.

Last but by no means least, the innovative and interactive ‘Power of Lean’ experience will allow those brave enough to simulate Superbike-style knee-down riding, replicating the feeling of being at full power whilst almost horizontal to the ground!

Although most tickets have now sold out, there is still availability for Friday attendance at CarFest North.

Ferrari celebrates the 61st Monaco Grand Prix.

This will be the 61st Monaco Grand Prix to count for the Formula 1 World Championship, the 72nd in all. The track layout has always used the same roads in the Principality, although over the years, there have been ten slight modifications to its length which is currently 3.340 kilometres. Ferrari has won eight times, equivalent to 13%.

The first ever Monaco GP in 1950 was the second ever championship race and Scuderia Ferrari’s first. 19 cars started but 10 of them got no further than the opening lap. Giuseppe Farina, in an Alfa Romeo crashed at Tabac and was hit by Jose Froilan Gonzalez in a Maserati. The road was blocked and the rest of the group couldn’t avoid them and it ended in a carambolage. Juan Manuel Fangio won for Alfa Romeo, with Alberto Ascari second in the Ferrari.

The race did not return to the calendar until 1955, when Maurice Trintignant won in a Ferrari. The Frenchman was noted for his tidy style and made the most of the misfortunes of others, winning from ninth. To this day, there has only been one winner who started further back.

Although the Scuderia won elsewhere, victory in the Principality escaped it for 20 years, with Niki Lauda taking the 1975 win in the 312 T and doing it again the following year.

In 1979, it was an all Ferrari front row with Jody Scheckter ahead of Gilles Villeneuve, but only the South African finished where he started. It was the Canadian’s turn two years later in the 126 CK when he made no mistakes, while overtaking Alan Jones in the Williams with just four laps to go. The spectacular win made waves in North America and Gilles and the number 27 Ferrari even featured on the cover of “Time” magazine.

This victory for the Scuderia was followed by another barren patch in Monaco. It took the arrival of Michael Schumacher to see a return to victory. In 1996, the German took pole but failed to finish that crazy race which saw only four cars make it to the line, the winner being Olivier Panis, the Frenchman having started 14th. The next year, at the wheel of the F310B, the German outclassed the field to win with 53 seconds in hand over Rubens Barrichello in the Stewart and over a minute in front of his team-mate, Eddie Irvine.

Two years later, Schumacher and Irvine finished first and second, while in 2001 Michael won for the fifth time in the Principality to equal Graham Hill’s achievement, only one win short of the Monaco record holder, Ayrton Senna.