Robert Clarke, the revered builder of Honda Performance Development (HPD), suffered heart failure on Saturday and died at the age of 75. “Basically, I was the direction guy and the money guy, and Robert was really the hands-on guy,” Elliott said. “I interviewed I don't know how many people, a dozen, at least, and then, but Robert had an engineering background. For those who were fortunate enough to be in his orbit, there’s no chance Robert Stanley Clarke will fade from memory. Robert Stanley Clarke.