Carmall.com - Honda's plan of making a motorsports comeback was revealed by Honda North America's new head of research and development, Erik Berkmen. In spite of some pressures from their competitors, Honda are still convinced that this is right step.

Berkmen was encouraged by Honda racer Dario Franchitti's IndyCar 500 victory last month. His V6-engined race car was the work of Berkmen and his team.

The words once uttered by the late Soichiro Honda, "If we don't race, that's just not Honda," also motivated Berkemen to re-establish Honda as an automaker that also focuses on the racing world.

Berkmen, who has been with Honda for 30 years, then set out to regain Honda's image as an inovative car producer. In spite of the onslaught of competition from German, US, even Korean automaker, the 53-year old man believes that Honda will make a magical comeback when the moment comes.

Berkmen is the first American to be appointed as the President of Research and Development. Furthermore, Berkmen will also lead the team that will develop several Honda models, from the modified version of the Civic to the new Accord set to launch this year.

However, challenges are nevertheless to be faced by Honda, such as an economic recession, the impact of several natural disasters, as well as currency-related problems, possibly making the journey a bumpy one.