2004 Indy 500 : BorgWarner Louis Schwitzer Award Presented to Honda

INDIANAPOLIS, May 21, 2004 -- The 38th BorgWarner Louis Schwitzer Award has been presented to Yasuhide Sakamoto, Steve Eriksen, Steve Miller, and Steve O'Connor for the Honda HI4R-A engine. The annual award recipient is selected by engineers and presented to engineers for innovative engineering excellence in the field of race car design.

Honda designated their new 3.0-liter, HI4R-A, to address the 2004 IRL rule change which required reduced displacement. Considerable development was required to recover the horsepower loss and ensure durability for 500 miles. Honda focused their development efforts utilizing computer modeling. Extensive use of engine simulations reduced the time spent on performance testing. The time gained was spent on the durability testing.

According to Steve Holman, Chairman, BorgWarner Louis Schwitzer Award Committee, "Honda also developed several innovative features that directly helped recover the lost engine power that the IRL rule changes created." Honda's goal is to recover all the lost horsepower by the end of the IRL season with future refinements.

BorgWarner Inc. is a product leader in highly engineered components and systems for vehicle powertrain applications worldwide. The company operates manufacturing and technical facilities in 43 locations in 14 countries. Customers include Ford, DaimlerChrysler, General Motors, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai/Kia, Caterpillar, Navistar International, Renault/Nissan, Peugeot and VW/Audi. The Internet address for BorgWarner is: http://www.bwauto.com/ . For further information contact BorgWarner Corporate Communications at 312-322-8500.