Civic finished WTCC debut season with a podium !

Today saw the final rounds of the 2012 World Touring Car Championship (WTCC), taking place on the Guia Circuit in downtown Macau. The mission for Honda Racing Team JAS was to bring the Civic WTCC's great performance from qualifying into race day. And despite the cloudy sky, the omens looked good from the early morning warm up session, with the Civic WTCC setting the second fastest time (2:31.844).

Race1:

The formation lap got underway at 11:00am local time, and starting from fifth on the grid and with the car's promising pace, Honda Racing Team JAS driver Tiago Monteiro was in a confident mood. He got off to a great start. On the opening lap of the nine lap race, Tiago managed to clear the difficult Lisboa Bend in fifth to remain in the top group. He then edged passed the car in front on Lap 2 to climb to fourth. He continued his charge, breathing down the neck of the car in third. On Lap 4 an accident caused one of the front-runners to drop a position, allowing Tiago to move up. Over the next few laps Monteiro kept up the chase and a three-way fight for the lead continued until the end. Monteiro held his place, crossing the line in 3rd and delivering the first podium place for the Civic WTCC in just its third outing.

Race 2:

Following technical problems to a car in front, Monteiro was promoted from fifth to sixth on the grid in Race 2. He kept his place on the opening lap from a standing start. However, the position was short-lived. At Lisboa Bend on Lap 3 Monteiro was overtaken by two cars, dropping him to seventh. When the safety car came out on Lap 4 due to an accident in front, the Civic WTCC was running in sixth. The race finally resumed, however the drama continued; two front-runners crashed on the very first lap at Lisboa Bend. With the safety car again leading the field, the race ended after 11 laps and the Civic WTCC came home in fourth.   

Driver Tiago Monteiro: "In Race 1 I had a good start and was able to overtake the car in front in the early stages of the race. From that moment, I pushed very hard to get an opportunity to pass the Chevrolets but it wasn't possible. I am very happy to get on the podium in the end though. Race 2 was a bit more difficult at the start and the race in Macau is long and many things can happen, so it was important just to finish. The entire team deserves this amazing end of the season on the podium. They've worked very hard and this is the result of team work."

Honda Racing Team JAS Team Principal, Alessandro Mariani: "Of course we are very happy with the podium finish, but from my point of view, our greatest achievement this weekend was finishing so close to the works Chevrolet cars. After only two races and fighting for the lead - this is a fantastic result! But whilst the car clearly has strong potential for 2013, we're still learning, so we'll work even harder to prepare it for next season."

Chief Engineer for Civic WTCC Development, Daisuke Horiuchi: "I am very happy to get such a great result - third place on the podium. And what makes it even more special was that we were able to fight so closely with the regular leaders, the Chevrolets. Step by step we have improved the car's set-up to the point where we get this excellent result in the final round of the season. It's very gratifying as I feel that the effort of the driver and all the team members has been paid off. I have got a positive feeling for next year, but at the same time realise that this is just the beginning of a tough road before our full WTCC entry in 2013."

Sunday, 18 November 2012

Guia Circuit, Macau (6.12km)     

Weather: cloudy      

Temperature: 20℃

Track condition: dry

　

Warm-up session                                2:31.844 (2nd fastest)

Race 1:

1          Yvan Muller               Chevrolet Cruze             9 laps               23:08.977

2          Alain Menu               Chevrolet Cruze　          9 laps　            23:09.892

3          Tiago Monteiro      Honda Civic WTCC    9 laps　           23:10.274

4          Gabriele Tarquini　  SEAT Leon　　　　          9 laps　            23:10.944

5          Darryl O'Young         Chevrolet Cruze             9 laps 　           23:20.496

6          Tom Coronel             BMW 320                       9 laps               24:04.113

Race 2:

1          Alain Menu                 Chevrolet Cruze　　　     11 laps　         35:36.096

2          Robert Huff                 Chevrolet Cruze　          11 laps　         35:36.416

3          Yvan Muller                 Chevrolet Cruze             11 laps            35:36.985

4          Tiago Monteiro        Honda Civic WTCC     11 laps　        35:45.111

5          Darryl O'Young           Chevrolet Cruze             11 laps 　        35:45.882

6          Franz Engstler　         BMW 320　　　　　　      11 laps            35:46.223

(According to the regulation, which stipulates that the first two Safety Car laps completed will not count towards the race distance, this race was run over 11 laps.)

High-Res Photos of WTCC Civic

We offer you two high resolution photos of the new WTCC 1.6l Turbocharged Honda Civic. They are provided by Honda of Europe's media service. These photos are in their original sizes and only differs in the small TOVA watermark added.

Civic WTCC finishes its first race

Civic WTCC finishes Races 1 and 2 in 9th and 10th respectively

in its first appearance

Today, Rounds 19 and 20 of the WTCC took place under a clear sky at Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture, Japan.

Race 1:

Race 1 got underway at 2:30pm and was competed over 26 laps on the East Course of Suzuka Circuit. Tiago Monteiro started the race in his Honda Civic WTCC from 11th. After a rolling start, Tiago kept his position at the beginning of the race. Throughout there were close fights with the cars in front and behind, but the Civic WTCC driver maintained his place and when a front-runner went off the track on Lap 22, he climbed to tenth - the position he kept until he was shown the chequered flag. After the finish of the race, the Civic WTCC was promoted to ninth in the final classification due to a penalty given to another car.

Race 2:

In Race 2, the first 10 cars in qualifying were placed in reverse order on the starting grid. After a standing start from 11th, Tiago maintained his position at the early stage of the race and later started fighting closely with a BMW in front. After a long battle over 10 laps, he finally overtook his rival on the first corner on Lap 23 to move up to 10th before finishing the 26-lap race.

Rounds 21 and 22 of the WTCC in China will be held on Shanghai International Circuit on 3 and 4 November.

Driver Tiago Monteiro: "We are very happy and excited that we got our first points. Only a few weeks ago, we said we it would be great if we could break into the top 10, and that's where we are, so I'm satisfied. The car felt quite good, a lot better than in qualifying. But we are still learning about the car, and every time we try to find a better setup and balance in the car, so especially in Race 2, the car was very good. It was very important for us to finish the races in decent conditions as a first step and we will keep working hard in Shanghai and Macao to lean more."

Honda Racing Team  JAS　Team Principal, Alessandro Mariani: "I am very pleased because we were able to show our speed in the actual races. Our lap times were very good and consistent. Unfortunately, it was difficult to overtake on the short Suzuka circuit and the result of yesterday's qualifying affected our final outcome. However, finishing in the top ten in the two races - and not that far from the winning cars - is a good result. I would like to thank the engineers at Honda who created the excellent new engine and our team members who have worked hard, night and day, to achieve this result - a great effort that has really paid off."

Chief Engineer for Civic WTCC Development, Daisuke Horiuchi: "I am pleased that we completed both Races 1 and 2 in our debut round. The car, including the engine, performed well and didn't have any major problems. However, there's so much more for us to work on and improve. Although we've not had long to prepare, we were able to make it in time for Suzuka. So, I think we have achieved a satisfactory level for now. We will continue working hard to complete the car for the next rounds in China, and we really appreciate everyone's support."

Sunday, 21 October 2012

Suzuka Circuit East Course (2,243m)　　

Weather: sunny 

Temperature: 24.2℃

Track condition: dry　　

Attendance:16,500

Warm-up session                                54.470 (11th fastest)

Race 1

1  Alain Menu                          Chevrolet Cruze　　　26 laps　                    23:44.880

2  Yvan Muller                         Chevrolet Cruze　　  26 laps　                    23:45.692

3  Robert Huff                         Chevrolet Cruze　    26 laps　                    23:46.299

4  Gabriele Tarquini　　               SEAT Leon　　　　      26 laps　                    23:58.708

5  Alex MacDowall                    Chevrolet Cruze　　  26 laps　                    23:59.153

6  Tom Coronel                        BMW 320               26 laps　                   24:04.750

9  Tiago Monteiro                       Honda Civic WTCC  26 laps                     24:06.164

Race 2

1  Stefano D'aste                     BMW320  　　          26 laps                    23:54.717

2  Pepe Oriola　　                      SEAT Leon　　　 　    26 laps　                   23:57.279

3  Gabriele Tarquini　　               SEAT Leon　　　　　    26 laps　　                 23:57.562

4  Robert Huff                         Chevrolet Cruze　    26 laps　                   23:58.491

5  Alain Menu                          Chevrolet Cruze　    26 laps　　                 23:58.937

6  Yvan Muller                         Chevrolet Cruze　　  26 laps　                   23:59.285

10 Tiago Monteiro                      Honda Civic WTCC  26 laps 　                  24:05.330

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