The JAS Motorsport run Honda team admits that it has set its aims high for the 2014 World Touring Car Championship, after the team continued testing in Valencia alongside Citroën and RML.
Honda will run four Civics in the 2014 WTCC, although neither Norbert Michelisz or Mehdi Bennani have yet got behind the wheel of their new steeds. Both drivers were present in the recent Valencia test to see how official works drivers Gabriele Tarquini and Tiago Monteiro were getting on.
Andrea Adamo, Chief Designer of the new car for JAS, admits that the car is almost entirely new compared to the much smaller, less aggressive car used in the 2013 season.
“The new Civic WTCC does not have much in common with last year’s Civic,” said Adamo. “Everything is new: the chassis, the engine, the suspension, the aerodynamic parts, even the size of the tyres has changed!
“Considering we started the project in September 2013 and were able to perform a shakedown of the new Civic WTCC in January 2014, our staff really have done an incredible job in a short amount of time.”
Honda’s Daisuke Horiuchi, Large Project Leader for the WTCC engine development, spoke about the work undertaken on the car’s new, more powerful engine.
“On top of having created a new casting for the block & sump, we also made great progress on the intake and combustion,” said Daisuke. “After these first track tests, I am satisfied that the simulations we have carried on the test bench have been confirmed in real life on the track. Our only job is now to fine tune the engine management.”
Alessandro Mariani, Team Principal and Managing Director of JAS Motorsport says the team are setting themselves high aims for 2014, after their drivers Tarquini and Monteiro finished the 2013 season in second and eighth overall respectively.
“We are very proud that we can bring the new Civic WTCC 2014 at the start of what will be a very exciting FIA WTCC season,” said Mariani. “It has been hard work all through winter and the late rule changes did not make our lives any easier.
“We have set high aims, but the test sessions we completed show that we are moving in the right direction. The team spirit we’ve created will be essential to get us through this challenging campaign.”