Honda World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) drivers Gabriele Tarquini and Tiago Monteiro are feeling confident heading to the Moscow Raceway, saying the circuit is more likely to suit their Civic race cars.
Having ticked off one of the fastest circuits on the calendar last month with the Nürburgring Norschleife, the WTCC now heads to Russia for the fifth meeting of the season.
With its mixture of twisty and flowing sections, and just one long straight, both Tarquini and Monteiro believe the circuit will play more to the advantages of their Civic.
The team score one podium at the track in 2014, with Tarquini following home Citroën’s José María López in the opening race.
“Last year our Civic was very good in terms of performance,” said Tarquini. “The characteristics of the Moscow circuit are normally good for our car.
“It is a modern track with a lot of medium-slow corners and change of directions. The top-speed is not as important as in the Nürburgring and I think we must focus on qualification because the grid position will be very important – overtaking can be very hard in the races.”
Monteiro fared less well last season with just a seventh-place finish in race one, and the Portuguese driver has set a firm goal of being the ‘best of the rest’.
“Getting close to the winners is very complicated so we must be the best of the rest and the best of the Honda family,” said Monteiro. “Getting back on the podium on this track is a realistic goal for me.
“Moscow is a totally different challenge to what we had so far – it’s a newer track with lots of different types of corners and quite a smooth surface. It has only one long straight.
“It is more a technical track than a quick one and this is advantageous for us. It is a completely different type of track than those we have been racing on since the start of the season and it doesn’t have a very abrasive surface.
“We fared quite well last year so we’re hoping the evolution to this year’s Civic WTCC will enable us to be even more competitive this time round. So, we’re putting our heads down and going for it!”