The HPD ARX-03a, ARX-03b, and ARX-03c are

Le Mans Prototypes A Le Mans Prototype (LMP) is a type of sports prototype race car used in various races and championships, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA SportsCar Championship, European Le Mans Series, and Asian ...

race cars developed by

Honda Performance Development Honda Racing Corporation USA (HRC US), formerly Honda Performance Development, Inc. (HPD), is a subsidiary of American Honda Motor Co. which was established in 1993 and is based in Santa Clarita, California. It is the technical operations cente ...

in 2012. The 03a model utilizes a

Honda commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...

V8 engine A V8 engine is an eight- cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. Origins The first known V8 was the Antoinette, designed by Léon Levavasseur, a ...

for use in the LMP1 category, while the 03b uses a

turbocharged In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (also known as a turbo or a turbosupercharger) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake air, forcing more air into the ...

V6 engine A V6 engine is a six- cylinder piston engine where the cylinders and cylinder blocks share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. The first V6 engines were designed and produced independently by Marmon Motor Car Company, ...

for the LMP2 category. Three teams have already announced their use of the ARX-03 in the

FIA World Endurance Championship The FIA World Endurance Championship, abbreviated as WEC, is a world championship for automobile endurance racing organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The se ...

and the

American Le Mans Series The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le M ...

, as well as at the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...

. Muscle Milk Pickett Racing have purchased an 03a for use in the

, joined by two 03bs for

Level 5 Motorsports Level 5 Motorsports was an American auto racing team founded in 2006 with illegally procured funds by racing driver, money lender and later convicted racketeer Scott Tucker, currently serving a sentence of 16 years and 8 months in federal prison. ...

. In the

2012 FIA World Endurance Championship The 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship was the inaugural running of the FIA World Endurance Championship, World Endurance Championship. It was co-organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and the Automobile Club de l'Ou ...

Strakka Racing Strakka Racing was a British auto racing team founded by Nick Leventis. The team was based at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire. The team made history at the 2010 1000 km of Hungaroring when they became the first team in Le Mans Serie ...

and JRM Racing campaigned a single 03a each, joined by a single-car 03b entry by Starworks Motorsport in LMP2.

Racing history

2012

The HPD ARX-03 made its racing debut at the 2012 12 Hours of Sebring. The race would be the opening round of both the

and the brand new

seasons. Muscle Milk Pickett Racing campaign a brand new ARX-03a LMP1 car, while

campaigned two LMP2 ARX-03bs in the

. After some bad luck with a fueling hose at Sebring, the Muscle Milk team went on to win the next five races in a row as well as another win at

Virginia International Raceway Virginia International Raceway (VIR) is a race track located in Alton, Virginia, near Danville. It is less than a half-mile from the North Carolina/Virginia border just outside Milton, North Carolina, on the banks of the Dan River. VIR hosts ...

. At the seasons final race,

Petit Le Mans Petit Le Mans (French language, French for ''Little Le Mans'') is a sports car racing, sports car Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race held annually at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, United States. The race has been held for a durat ...

, Lucas Luhr was hit by a GTC class Porsche. Despite repairs needed during the race, the team was able to complete 70% of the race in order to win points. Muscle Milk Pickett Racing won both the LMP1 drivers and team championships with just 5 points over their main rivals, Dyson Racing. The

team took first in class at the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring and went on to win 7 of the next 9 races, losing only at Mosport and Road America to their main rivals, Conquest Endurance. The team was able to secure the LMP2 Teams' Championship and Drivers' Championships.

, JRM and Starworks Motorsport would contest the first series of the brand new

. The Starworks team would claim three class victories including the season opening

12 Hours of Sebring The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race for Sports car racing, sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in S ...

and the

and claim the LMP2 trophy with their HPD ARX-03b. Strakka Racing and JRM, competing with ARX-03a's, would finish second and third in the LMP1 Privateer Trophy behind the Swiss

Rebellion Racing Rebellion Racing was a Swiss racing team that competed in endurance racing. The team competed in the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup season and won the LMP1 teams' title in the 2011 Le Mans Series season. The team started as an association ...

squad with Strakka racing claiming just one class victory.

2013

Muscle Milk Pickett Racing would continue with the HPD ARX-03a for the first three rounds of the 2013 ALMS season before moving to the updated -03c package for the remainder of the year. The team would claim eight wins in ten races losing out to

and Audi Sport Team Joest at Sebring and suffering an overheating issue that took them out of the season ending

Extreme Speed Motorsports Extreme Speed Motorsports (ESM) was an American auto racing team based out of Riviera Beach, Florida, Riviera Beach, Florida. Founded by Scott Sharp and Patrón CEO Ed Brown (racing driver), Ed Brown, the team competed in the FIA World Endurance ...

would join the

team in LMP2 with the ex-Starworks -03b and another brand new chassis for 2013. Level 5 would claim wins at every race except

Long Beach Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

where they were beat out by ESM. Muscle Milk claimed the LMP1 Teams' and Drivers' Championship and Level 5 claimed the LMP2 Teams' and Drivers' Championship.

would be the only team to campaign an HPD car in the 2013 season of the FIA WEC and would only campaign the first three rounds. The team retired the car at

Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. The village is about south-southwest of Towcester and northeast of Brackley, both accessed via the A43 road, A43 main ...

due to damage but would go on to finish second in the privateer ranks and

Spa Francorchamps The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), informally referred to as Spa, is a motor-racing circuit located in Francorchamps, Stavelot, Wallonia, Belgium, about southeast of Spa. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, hos ...

and first at

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

in front of rival

Competition history

Complete American Le Mans Series results

(key) Races in bold indicates

pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...

. Races in ''italics'' indicates fastest lap.

Complete United SportsCar Championship results

(key) Races in bold indicates

. Races in ''italics'' indicates fastest lap. * Points were scored with the ARX-04b

Gallery

File:HPD ARX 03a.jpg, HPD ARX 03a, JRM File:PLM12 6 Muscle Milk HPD Lucas Luhr.jpg, HPD ARX 03a, Muscle Milk Pickett File:HPD ARX-03b Honda Starworks Motorsport.jpg, HPD ARX-03b, Starworks File:American Le Mans Series LMP2 No.552 VIR.jpg, HPD ARX-03b, Level 5

References

External links

HPD ARX-03a
- Racecar Engineering, HPD ARX-03a, 14 March 2012 {{DEFAULTSORT:HPD ARX-03 ARX-03 Le Mans Prototypes 24 Hours of Le Mans race cars