A Diesel Honda CR-V Race Car Has Been Created, And It's For A Great Cause

A diesel Honda crossover doesn’t seem like the obvious candidate for a motorsport conversion, but the race in which this CR-V is due to be fielded is no ordinary event.

It’s the Race of Remembrance, taking place this weekend at Anglesey circuit in Wales. It’ll be the fourth running of the race, coinciding with Remembrance Sunday to pay tribute to the sacrifices made by armed service personnel and their families.

The CR-V has been worked over by Mission Motorsport - an organisation that uses motorsport to aid the recovery of injured military personnel - with the whole interior (save for the dashboard) removed to save weight. Camber control arms had to be fabricated to allow for a much lower ride height, while the brakes have been pinched from a Civic Type R.

The CR-V’s panoramic roof has been replaced with a plexiglass panel (a racing car with a massive sheet of glass on top is a bad idea, for obvious reasons), and a bespoke roll cage has been fitted. Six hours of the Race of Remembrance are run in the dark, so there’s also an LED light bar integrated into the grille.

Mission Motorsport CEO and chief instructor Major (Retd) James Cameron will head up the team of drivers. He’s joined by Private Lionel O’Connor, who lost his left leg in 2006 while serving in Iraq, Gold medal Paralympian Jon-Allan Butterworth MBE, who lost his left arm in 2007 while serving in the RAF in Iraq, and motoring journalist Alex Goy.

The race will run on Saturday from 3pm to 9pm, resuming the next day from 9am to 3pm, pausing part-way through for a special remembrance service.