Esteban Guerrieri confirmed at Honda for Japan

Honda Racing Team JAS have confirmed that Esteban Guerrieri will take over from Tiago Monteiro this weekend at Motegi in Japan, joining Ryo Michigami and Norbert Michelisz in the three-car effort.

“I was sorry to hear that Tiago would not be able to race this weekend, but I’m extremely excited to have been given the opportunity to join Honda for Motegi and to drive a factory car in the WTCC,” said Guerrieri.

“I’d also like to thank Campos Racing for their positivity throughout this process and to everybody who has helped in making my move to Honda possible. Motegi is a new circuit for me and I’ve never even driven the Civic WTCC, so I’m aware that there’s a lot to learn, but I’m confident that I can do a strong job of helping Honda in the Manufacturers’ Championship and supporting Norbi’s Drivers’ title ambitions.”

The Argentinian has been drafted in as Tiago Monteiro has been ruled out of contention for the second race in a row following a testing crash in Spain at the beginning of September.

Gabriele Tarquini deputised for Monteiro last time out in China, but with the Italian unavailable, Guerrieri, who is seventh in the championship and twice a race winner in the ageing Campos Chevrolet Cruze, has been called upon to join the factory Honda squad as they fight for the 2017 drivers’ and manufacturers’ titles.