Honda heads to the Hungaroring this weekend ready to build on a superb start to 2016 FIA World Touring Car Championship in which they currently top both the drivers’ and manufacturers’ points standings.
Tiago Monteiro has made an outstanding start to the 2016 season. With a victory last weekend at the Slovakia Ring and two other podium finishes under his belt already, he leads the drivers’ championship with 77 points – one ahead of his nearest rival, Jose Maria Lopez
Tiago, who has finished inside the top four in every race so far this season, and is the first Portuguese driver to lead an FIA World Championship, can boast a double podium finish at the Hungaroring for Honda in 2014 in his armoury. He is aiming to consolidate his position on top of the points table, despite strong opposition from a talented field of international drivers.
His British team-mate, Rob Huff, lies fourth in the championship having taken a victory and one additional podium finish from the opening four races. He has 49 points with 25 on offer for a win.
Huff has an excellent record at the Hungaroring, having won there in 2013 as an independent driver, and has been on the podium on two further occasions.
Like Huff, Norbert Michelisz is in his first season as a factory Honda Racing driver and is extremely excited to be racing in front of his countrymen and women.
Norbert, who lives in Budapest, lies third in the championship with 52 points after finishing inside the top six in every one of the season’s four races. He is Hungary’s only winner of an FIA World Championship motorsport event and has twice claimed victory at home.
The 31-year-old’s presence at the Hungaroring is sure to generate a huge local crowd, with ‘Norbi-mania’ set to descend on the circuit throughout the weekend
The Hungaroring round will be the first of 2016 at which compensation weights will be allocated to the WTCC competitors based on the speed shown in the current season.
At the first two rounds the Civic WTCCs ran without any compensation weight, meaning the cars were allowed to be 80kg lighter than their main rival for the manufacturers’ crown.
With impressive pace having been shown by Honda in France and Slovakia however, the Civics must run at 70kg above base weight, meaning they will be just 10kg lighter than their main rival and that the battle for supremacy looks set to be tighter than ever this weekend.
Tiago Monteiro, Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team, said: “We’ve had a fairytale start to the season. I’m leading the drivers’ championship, Honda is ahead in the manufacturers’ points and as a team we’ve been on the podium in every race and had a MAC3 win in Slovakia. It will be very tough to keep up this level of performance in Hungary with 70kg on board. This compensation weight will make managing our tyres a key element of our weekend, although having experienced the improvements we’ve made both in the car and in how we work as a team this year, I’m optimistic about another strong performance. I had two podiums in Hungary in 2014 and to do something similar would keep our challenge for the drivers’ and manufacturers’ titles on track.”
Rob Huff, Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team, said: “I’m very much looking forward to the Hungaroring. It’s a track where I’ve usually gone very well and one at which all the Honda drivers should be able to really show what the Civic WTCC is capable of. It’s also great because it’s Norbi’s home race and he draws an incredible crowd to the event. I’ve seen the reaction he gets on the podium in Hungary and it’s an incredible spectacle. We can’t ignore the fact that while the start of the season has been great for Honda, we’ve run lighter than our main rival manufacturer at the first two rounds, and this won’t be the case in Hungary when we have to carry 70kg of compensation weight. We have to be realistic about what we can achieve, but we’ve been on the podium at both of the first two rounds and this has to be the aim again.”
Norbert Michelisz, Honda Racing Team JAS, said: “Every time I get in a racing car, it’s a special feeling, but to do it in front of my home crowd is something incredible and a race win at the Hungaroring is worth more to me than a victory anywhere else. I’ve won there twice before – including last year in a Honda – and the reaction was just crazy from the fans. Because we’ve started the season very strongly, we will have to carry 70kg of compensation weight, almost the same as our main rivals. This will make the race weekend in Hungary very tough as the Hungaroring is a tight and twisty circuit where a heavy car is at a big disadvantage. But the Civic is a very strong car and I’m optimistic we can put on a good show
