British engineer Gordon Coppuck, designer of the winning McLaren M23 from the 1970s, and former driver John Wickham decided in 1981 to start their own project to return to the top tier of motorsport. They partnered with Japanese firms Bridgestone and Honda to create Spirit Racing. Even after Bridgestone dropped out of the project, the team used Honda’s former European motorcycle racing headquarters in Slough, Berkshire as its operational base.
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| SPIRIT 201B, Thierry Boutsen Silverstone Circuit |
The plan was to gradually enter Formula 1 by first competing in Formula 2 for the 1982–1983 seasons, with a car designed by Coppuck alongside John Baldwin and Tim Wright. It was powered by a Honda engine and entrusted to two young rising stars: Swedish driver Stefan Johansson and Belgian Thierry Boutsen. The debuting Spirit 201 immediately proved to be highly competitive, achieving eight pole positions, three victories, and second place in the European Formula 2 Championship. Boutsen narrowly lost the title to Corrado Fabi driving for March. The team’s strong season and immediate success altered Honda’s initial plan, which had been to enter Formula 1 in 1984 with the “101” project.
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| SPIRIT 201B, Thierry Boutsen Willow Springs International Motorsports Park |
By the end of 1982, Honda had already developed the new RA163E 1477cc V6 Turbo engine a year ahead of schedule. With the 101 still far from completion, the turbo engine was installed in a modified “201” chassis in November 1982, and the first tests were carried out at Silverstone. Staying true to their typically Japanese discretion, Honda preferred to remain low-profile, so Spirit avoided testing alongside other teams and instead ran the updated Spirit 201B at American tracks like Willow Springs and Riverside in California, and later at Silverstone in the UK, with the young Belgian Boutsen behind the wheel. The 201 never raced in an official event in its “B” configuration because, by the early 1983 tests in Brazil at the Jacarepaguà circuit, the car had already been heavily modified and renamed “201C”.
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