Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team is aiming for a strong start to the FIA World Touring Car Championship when the 2016 season kicks off at Circuit Paul Ricard in Southern France this weekend.
The JAS Motorsport-run squad has a refreshed line-up for the season with 2012 series champion Rob Huff, from Great Britain, joining Portugal’s Tiago Monteiro in a pair of Civic WTCCs.
For the first time in the WTCC, JAS Motorsport will run three cars. The third Civic WTCC will be raced by Hungary’s Norbert Michelisz under the Honda Racing Team JAS banner.
The Civic has been heavily revised over the winter with engine and suspension upgrades helping to improve the pace of the multiple race-winning machine.
An intensive pre-season testing schedule for the JAS Motorsport-run team, coupled to a significant restructure of the technical team, has delivered increased performance and renewed hopes of consistent podium finishes and race wins during 2016.
A change to the weekend format for 2016 means a greater emphasis will be placed on the second race of each round – now known as the Main Race. Reversed-grid rules will now switch to the Opening Race as a result.
Another fascinating addition to the WTCC is the advent of the ‘Manufacturers Against the Clock’ team time trial, which offers extra points for the Manufacturers’ Championship.
Known as ‘MAC3’ and taking place after qualifying, each represented manufacturer can nominate three of its cars to take part in the sprint
The cars leave the line together from a standing start and, after two laps of ultra-precise driving between team-mates, the time of the third car to finish is counted for results.
Paul Ricard, named after the pastis magnate who financed the construction of the circuit, was the home of the French Formula 1 and motorcycle grands prix for over 25 years and made its debut in the WTCC in 2014.
A Honda has only failed to make it onto the podium once in four attempts at the circuit near Le Castellet and hopes are high to continue that impressive run.
Rob Huff, Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team: “Paul Ricard was the scene for one of my best drives when I came from 14th on the grid to finish fifth in the wet in 2014,. The circuit has a very challenging layout with the combination of slow corners and long straights meaning it will be a compromise to get a set-up that works well across the whole lap, but it should also mean there is some great action on race day. I believe the work we’ve done in testing has left us with a very good package and our aim is to be finishing on the podium with at least one car in every race this season.”
Tiago Monteiro, Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team: “I’ve never been as excited heading into a new season of the WTCC as I am right now. There have been little refinements all over the Civic WTCC and they add up to a big difference in terms of how the car feels. We showed good pace at Paul Ricard last year and I’m sure we can be competitive against our rivals once more. I think the new additions to the championship, like the new race format and MAC3 will be great for the fans. I really can’t wait to get started.”
Norbert Michelisz, Honda Racing Team JAS: “It’s a great circuit; twisty in places, but fun. Turn Five, Signes, in particular, is a fantastic sweeping right-hander at very high speed. Last year we were very competitive against the other cars on the same weight – I finished second in Race Two and Tiago had very good pace – and this year we will start lighter than one or two others, so we could be in a very good position indeed
