From it's entry into the BTCC in 1995 the Honda Accord proved it had the pace to be a winner, although in it's first year a win eluded the partnership of David Leslie and James Kaye.  The combination of sleek design and power made it a strong base from which to work.  After some close season work on the car, Honda had a good package to start the '96 championship but the real improvement came with the arrival of a more powerful engine, mid season.  David Leslie didn't wait long to prove the point by taking the first win in the Accord during the British GP meeting at Silverstone.  In fact the  Honda was one of the best cars over the second half of the season and Leslie took another two wins during the remainder of the year, finally finishing 4th in the drivers table.  Everything changed within the team for the beginning of 1997.  Motor Sport Developments (MSD) lost the Honda franchise to Prodrive, who immediately embarked on a totally new car from the ground up.  It was all change on the driver front, with James Thompson (Ex. Vauxhall) and Gabriele Tarquini (Ex. F1) replacing Leslie and Kaye.  It turned out to be a year of mixed fortune and unfulfilled promise  for the Honda squad.  The new car was quick, but a combination of driver errors, mechanical problems and plain bad luck hindered the teams chance of regular podium finishes.  Thompson and Tarquini finished the season 5th and 6th respectively, with the team taking 3rd in the manufacturers championship.

James Thompson - 1998 Honda Accord

Much was expected for 1998.  The Banbury based outfit looked to be spot- on in pre season testing with James Thompson setting the pace.  Unfortunately for Honda this proved not to be the case when the racing started.  The Accord was obviously short of race pace compared with the front running Volvos and Nissans and both Thompson and Kox weren't that competitive.  The development team worked hard on the car during the year and by round 13 Thompson gave the car it's first win of the season at Croft.  From then on 1998 began to mirror the previous season with the car achieving some excellent results, Thompson secured another three race wins.  Ultimately it was a good season for Honda  but both outside observers and team insiders had expected better before the season started. Thompson still had a remote chance of winning the championship during the second half of the season, but his focus remained on picking up as many race wins as possible to generate publicity for Honda, rather than lifting the drivers' title.  He finally finished the year in 3rd with Kox a rather disappointing 12th.  

West Surrey Racing  took over the reins for 1999, and the driver line up of Thompson and Kox remained.  The '99 Accord was 'all new' and proved strong on engine power and mechanical grip. It won on it's first outing, at Donington Park, and expectations immediately leapt.  The Accord did have an Achilles heel however, it suffered with rear down force problems and proved weak in wet conditions.  Thompson was the pre season favourite of many but as in past years the Accord lacked early season pace, and was no match for the Nissan Primeras of Leslie and Aiello.  From round 11 onwards the car was on the pace and more wins materialized with Thompson taking another 3 victories, and Kox winning in the dark at Snetterton.  Gabriele Tarquini guested in a third car at Brands Hatch and Knockhill, where he took 2nd in the sprint race. Overall it was successful season for the West Surrey team, finishing 2nd in both the team and manufacturers titles.

West Surrey Racing and JAS Engineering ran a three car team for the 2000 season with Thompson and Tarquini being joined by Danish driver Tom Kristensen.  Again much was expected of the Honda team.  Sadly, again, the season started badly for them.  Thompson suffered a major accident at Brands Hatch in the first meeting of the season and missed the next four rounds due to concussion.  Substitute drivers Peter Kox and then David Leslie were called in to drive the third car at Donington and Thruxton.  Thompson bounced back at Silverstone to win the sprint race but was effectively out of the title race by then.  Tarquini and Kristensen both had reasonable results and took 3 wins each but the Accords were no real match for the all conquering Mondeos of  Menu, Reid and Rydell across the season. Honda did manage to finish 2nd in the manufacturers title but it this was no consolation for what was seen as another disappointing year.  

James Thompson - 2000 Honda Accord

Andy Priaulx - 2002 Honda Civic Type R

Honda did not contest the 2001 season as a works outfit, but chose to evaluate the new regulations before re-entering the BTCC in 2002 running two Civic Type Rs.  The team was run by Arena Motorsport, owned by Mike Earle, who had previously had a brief spell in the BTCC running an ex-works Renault Laguna for Russell Spence and Will Hoy.  Andy Priaulx, former hillclimb and Renault Spider championship winner, was chosen along with Alan Morrison, ex-BTCC class B winner in 2000, to drive the cars.  It took Arena a while to settle into the BTCC and the first few races saw the Civics unable to match the pace of the 'works' Astras and MGs.  As the year progressed however it became clear that Honda and Arena were finding the right set-ups and both drivers began to find they were qualifying, and finishing races nearer the front of the field.  Andy Priaulx claimed the teams first podium finish (2nd) in the feature race at Croft, and Honda proved difficult to beat thereafter.  Priaulx took a 3rd place in the sprint race at Snetterton two weeks later, and then finally delivered the goods by winning the feature race at a rain soaked Knockhill, in August.  In a thrilling finish he almost lost control of the car on the last lap after sliding on the waterlogged track, just yards from the chequered flag.  Not to be outdone, Morrison claimed himself a second place in the feature race during the August Bank holiday meeting at Brands Hatch before also winning, in the last race of the championship at Donington Park.  Finishing 3rd in the  manufacturers table, Honda also did well to also get Priaulx up to 5th in the final drivers' table.  Morrison finished in 9th.  

Alan Morrison - 2003 Honda Civic Type R

Tom Chilton - 2004 Honda Civic Type R

Team Honda did re-appear as a 'works' concern for 2004 but a reduction in manufacturer involvement left Arena with just one Civic Type R.  Alan Morrison was gone and Matt Neal had 'defected' to his 'home team', leaving Tom Chilton as the single driver.  Early in the season it had been muted that a second car would be entered but 19 year old Chilton remained the sole entry all year.  Sporting a new black livery, the car looked competitive from the start of the championship, although the opening meeting at Thruxton didn't accrue many points, just two from three races.  It all vastly improved from there on in though, and the first BTCC win for Chilton wasn't too far away.  He took first place in the third race of the day during the Silverstone meeting, and confirmed Mike Earle's pre-season prediction that he would become the youngest-ever winner in the BTCC.  The record had previously been held by James Thompson, when aged 21.  The black Honda was strong on race days and always in the thick of the action, with some gutsy drives by the youngster.  It was often seen finishing races with several panels dented, or even missing!  Further podium places followed and Chilton proved he could compete, and beat the other 'works' drivers.  The final meeting of the year, at Donington Park, saw him take another win in the second race of the day, and end the season on a high for the Team Honda / Arena Motorsport team, with them finishing in fifth slot in the Teams table.  A very creditable achievement from a single car entry.