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Honda Civic TCR machine lands in Australia
The first Honda Civic Type R TCR vehicle has landed in Sydney, Australia, ahead of the inaugural TCR Australia Series next year.
The Civic Type R is owned by Honda’s official global partner in racing, J.A.S. Motorsport, with the intention of partnering with a local Australian race team to enter the TCR Australia Series in 2019. Sydney-based Wall Racing is currently assisting J.A.S. Motorsport to house and prepare the car.
J.A.S Motorsport is based in Arluno, Italy, and also has a bespoke base near the Sepang Grand Prix circuit in Malaysia.
The arrival of the Honda signals the second TCR Series vehicle to arrive in Australia, following the Audi R3 LMS that has been held by Melbourne Performance Centre (MPC) since late last year.
MPC has already secured the exclusive local rights to supply vehicles from VAG (Volkswagen Audi Group), while it was recently confirmed that HMO Customer Racing has purchased two Hyundai i30N TCR cars to race in the series.
Honda is no stranger to Australian motorsport, having competed in Super Touring, production-based racing and rallying at various levels over the past two decades.
QUOTES:
Matt Braid
Director, Australian Racing Group
“It’s great to see another brand of TCR car arrive in Australia. You can really start to feel the momentum building now ahead of the 2019 season,” said Matt Braid.
“The J.A.S. Motorsport squad is world famous for their engineering capabilities and racing developments. They are also race and championship winners in their own right too. They offer a terrific, turn-key product.
“At this stage, the car is on loan from J.A.S, however, the intention is for someone to purchase the car, and secure a local distributor for the Civic Type R. There has been lots of interest, so I’d say that it is just a matter of time before we are able to confirm this.
“In the meantime, Wall Racing has been kind enough to keep the car at its race shop and will assist with running the car in upcoming test sessions.”
Mads Fischer
Business Development Manager, J.A.S. Motorsport
“Australia has a rich history in motorsport, so it was no surprise to see a TCR Series created down under,” said Mads Fischer.
“We have a long history with Honda’s global racing programs, and we are very proud of the business that we have developed alongside Honda to create the best race cars.
“We will be paying close attention to TCR Australia and are looking forward to partnering with the right team to help put Honda on the map in Australia.”