Honda complete over 400km of testing with Norbert Michelisz at Vallelunga

Honda Racing Team JAS have had a successful test at the Italian circuit of Vallelunga, near Rome, with Norbert Michelisz on hand for both days for driving duties in the upgraded Honda Civic, despite not matching the pace of the Citroëns of Mehdi Bennani and José María López.

The Japanese marque had just one car at the test, with new signing Norbert Michelisz completing all the miles, with Rob Huff and Tiago Monteiro due to split time during the next tests scheduled before the season opener at Paul Ricard on April 3rd

The 31- year-old Hungarian was fifth fastest overall on the first day of testing in the upgraded Honda Civic WTCC, and was sixth on day two, 2.6 seconds from the best time of Citroën’s José María López, though Michelisz missed the end part of the day due a technical problem while the track was at its best.

“It’s been a really good test for us,” said Michelisz.

“We didn’t come here to set a lap time; we came here to get everything in place to set fast lap times at every round. It’s a shame that the weather wasn’t great on the second day, which meant we had to change our plan a little bit, but the results look good and we’ve made some very positive steps forward with the suspension and balance.

“We have another few days planned over the next few weeks before the start of the season so we should be in a good shape for Paul Ricard at the season opener.”