WEC: Major changes planned for HPD, Tequila Patron ESM

RACER has learned Honda is finalizing a complex plan that would see its brand-new ARX-04b LMP2 coupe taken offline until later in the year. The move would be made to further develop the chassis, which was set to contest the full World Endurance Championship calendar, in the windtunnel and in private track tests to meet all of its intended performance targets.

Honda Performance Development supplied two of the brand-new coupes to Tequila Patron ESM just prior to the season-opening IMSA race at Daytona, and while the shapely P2s performed reasonably well—despite having limited time for pre-season testing and development, the ARX-04bs lacked the kind of speed required to win races.

Subsequent testing conducted by ESM last week at Sebring, which included support from HPD, Wirth Research, and involved a number of new components to try, did not produce the desired gains in lap time. Shortly after the test's conclusion, the three groups came together to discuss their options on how to move forward.

A Honda representative confirmed the most probable direction involves ESM's pair of ARX-04bs being returned to HPD where an intensive testing program would be implemented. If those R&D efforts are successful, the ARX-04bs could be seen in competition later in the year—most likely in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.

Provided the plan is approved, it would involve delaying the ARX-04b's FIA WEC homologation until 2016. With the 2015 homologation deadline taking place this week, HPD would be forced into supplying the car with its current configuration locked in place.

"Under series rules, once a car has been homologated for WEC competition, its development is finalized," HPD told RACER. "With the homologation deadline for World Endurance Championship entries looming, and realizing that we still have more work to do on the car, we have opted to postpone homologation until our development work is finished. We will continue development of the ARX-04b and homologate it only when we are completely satisfied that it is meeting its targets."

The unfortunate situation has left ESM with very little time to react. The Florida-based WEC/IMSA team is expected to revert to its older open-top ARX-03bs for the upcoming Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring on March 21 before switching to new coupes which will use the same twin-turbo V6 Honda engines in the WEC.

"In order not to compromise ESM's World Endurance Championship and Patron North American Endurance Cup aspirations, we have mutually agreed for them to change to an existing homologated chassis, which will continue to run the Honda HR28TT V6 engine," HPD confirmed. We greatly appreciate the ESM team's patience through the entire development process, as well as its continued desire to work with Honda while we continue development of the ARX-04b in parallel."

"We're fortunate to have a long relationship with Honda, and have great respect for everyone at HPD," ESM co-owner/driver Scott Sharp told RACER. "Right now, the car is going through developmental issues that will take a while to sort out, and I'm sure they will get the car to a place to where it's fast and showing its full potential. Unfortunately, our WEC season is essentially already here, and that's led to the decision we've made with Honda on taking things in a different chassis direction while they continue developing the ARX-04b."

The team tested one ARX-04b and one ARX-03b chassis at Sebring last week, with the new car sampling a variety of aero configuration changes. Making back-to-back comparisons between the 04b and 03b was a challenge, but unofficial lap times showed the proven ARX-03b to be slightly faster around the 3.7-mile road course. Based on the late call to acquire new P2 coupes, ESM could be forced to stay with the ARX-03bs until their new chassis vendor is able to fill the unexpected order. Ligier's new JS P2 is said to be a leading candidate to replace ESM's HPDs.

[ESM has now confirmed the team will take delivery of Ligiers with an eye to entering them at the second WEC race of 2015 held at Spa.]

The last major question to answer is how HPD will bring the ARX-04b to its intended state of competitiveness. Honda has relied on partner teams to field factory sports car programs in the past, and without a race team of their own to handle the necessary R&D with the P2 coupe, they could tab one of their IndyCar teams to manage the process.

The most realistic scenario could see the cars being shipped to Andretti Autosport, although Schmidt Peterson Motorsports has also expressed an interested in representing Honda in sports cars. Both Indianapolis-based outfits serve as key Honda Verizon IndyCar Series teams, and between the two, Andretti has a wealth of sports car experience after fielding a factory HPD/Acura ALMS P2 program from 2007-2008.

With the ARX-04b's aerodynamics said to be at the heart of the gains to be made, Andretti Autosport's role as Honda's lone IndyCar aero kit testing team would also seem to fit the current needs with its sports car program.

It's unclear when the ARX-04b would return to competition, but it would not be a surprise to see it reappear later in the season with Andretti or SPM under the same provisional IMSA homologation it used to race at Daytona, before re-launching the ARX-04b as a customer car program in 2016.