Honda gears up for 2013 WTCC premiere

Honda Racing Team JAS have completed their final development test ahead of the 2013 FIA World Touring Car Championship season premiere at Monza on March 24th.
“I am very proud of the great job that Honda and our staff have done to get us ready for the 2013 Championship, and of the team spirit we’ve created, which will be essential to get us through the challenging campaign ahead,” said Alessandro Mariani, Team Manager of Honda Racing Team JAS.

The team completed three days of wind tunnel testing in Japan, three days of testing at Valencia and a further three days of testing in Aragon.

“Following extensive testing, we have made a number of improvements to the Civic WTCC. We have improved the car’s aerodynamics and enhanced the suspension design, as well as the front structure of the car. We have also fitted the brakes with bespoke front and rear calipers in cooperation with AP Racing,” said Andrea Adamo, Chief Designer of Honda Racing Team JAS.

Honda Racing Team JAS entered one car for the final three races of the 2012 WTCC for Tiago Monterio. The Portuguese scored a podium in the season finale at Macau and Honda are hoping for the changes made on the car during the winter to keep them in the thick of the very top of the field.

“The WTCC is an exciting sprint race where tail-to-nose dog-fight can last for 20 minutes. To overtake the car in front with less than 50cm between them our drivers need to react in a fraction of a second, so they need the guarantee of an instant response from the engine and car,” said Daisuke Horiuchi, WTCC Development Project Leader at Honda R&D.

“To achieve this, we’ve focused our development on improving the driveability of the car. We also fine-tuned the engine to give the drivers greater control, so they can drive in whatever style they wish. This has involved, amongst other work, various improvements to the fine controls of the turbocharger’s turbine revolution, the turbo-boost control and the pick-up of the engine rev. We also worked on the shape of the intake port, optimizing the intake manifold length as well as modifying the ignition system.”

Honda Racing Team JAS is going to field two cars for Monteiro and Gabriele Tarquini. Zengõ Motorsport is going to run an independent Honda Civic, built by JAS, for Norbert Michelisz.