Las Vegas, NV – Development work continued for the Honda Ridgeline racing team at The Mint 400 off-road race in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Mint 400 race has a rich history that dates back to 1967 when Norm Johnson had an idea to help promote the Mint Hotel in Las Vegas. The Mint 400 Off-Road Rally evolved into the Mint 400 race that ran until 1989. After the Mint Hotel was sold to Jack Binion, owner of the Horseshoe club, the race lapsed for 20 years until re-born in 2008 by the Southern Nevada Off-road Racing Enthusiasts (SNORE).
After the re-birth, the race has tried to stay faithful to the original by having a Miss Mint contest, holding contingency and technical inspection in downtown Las Vegas on Fremont Street, and by having punishing race courses.
Drivers pray for silt or whoops to give them a break from the piles of sharp rocks that comprise most of the course. As the laps go by, the rocks are pulled out from the surface, making it even rougher. It was a perfect test bed for the Honda Ridgeline team who are running the toughest off-road races on the planet to launch the all new Honda Ridgeline.
Coverage: Lofton Wins 2016 Mint 400
After a win at the legendary Baja 1000, the Honda Ridgeline team has been hard at work further developing their desert racing platform that uses Honda’s twin turbo HR35TT V6 engine and an Albins ST6 sequential six-speed transmission. The type of terrain the team is subjecting the Ridgeline to is completely different than any other application that has been used. It’s been a challenge trying to replicate the kind of punishment they see during the race while testing. Once the green flag drops, the stress of competition puts everything on a whole new level. In off-road racing, you have all the challenges seen in pavement racing, but because of the terrain and the unique demands put on the suspension, it takes place in a more three dimensional realm.
The truck is very sophisticated and relies on technology from Honda Performance Development “HPD” (American Honda’s Racing Division) and exceptional components and support from General Tire, FOX, Rigid Industries, KMC Wheels, Turnkey Marketing, Sparco, Eibach Springs, NEO Synthetics, RPI Racing, PCI Race Radios, K&N Air Filters, and FiberwerX Off-Road Fiberglass. They put the truck through hell at the Mint 400 and were not able to make it to the finish but logged tons of valuable data. They learned more of what it takes to make the complete package excel in such extreme conditions. The Ridgeline team is jumping right back into testing and looking forward to their next challenge at the 48th SCORE Baja 500 June 1st through the 5th in Ensenada, Baja Mexico.
For all the latest on the Honda Ridgeline Off-road team go to: http://www.hondaoff-road.com/ or HondaOffRoadRacing on Facebook, Instagram: @HondaOffRoadRacing or Jeff Proctor on Personal Instagram: @proctor_race.