The Honda Civic Type R TCR has been crowned the TCR Model of the Year for a second season in a row, becoming the first car to win the prize multiple times.
Awarded by the WSC Group that devised the TCR formula, the Model of the Year title recognises the most successful car over a 12-month period, with results in all TCR-affiliated series counting for points.
Though the 2020 racing season was disrupted by the global Covid-19 pandemic, the Honda Civic Type R TCR – based on the Civic Type R production vehicle – nevertheless achieved remarkable success, with six major titles and 44 victories claimed by drivers of the JAS Motorsport-built car.
On the world stage, highlights included Esteban Guerrieri’s four victories in the WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup aboard an ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport Civic Type R TCR, and another for stablemate and Argentinian compatriot Nestor Girolami.
Guerrieri’s tally of victories was the most for any driver in the WTCR in 2020 and moved him to the top of the WTCR’s all-time winners’ list, as he became the first driver in WTCR competition to reach 10 race wins.
He and fellow Münnich Motorsport WTCR driver Tiago Monteiro were also part of the Fugel Sport-run Team Castrol Honda Racing crew that successfully conquered the Nurburgring 24 Hours TCR class for a second year in a row.
Nationally, Massive Motorsport’s Kasper H Jensen claimed the inaugural TCR Denmark title, Marcel Fugel – of Honda Team ADAC Sachsen – won the TCR Germany Junior Cup, and Jordan Michels clinched the NZ Endurance Championship’s Class 2 title in a Team Williams Racing Civic Type R TCR.
MM Motorsport’s Kevin Giacon and Davide Nardilli won a pair of Coppa Italia Turismo crowns, while TCR Japan’s Saturday Series ‘Bronze’ title was won by Rio Shimono for the Drago Corse team.
Hiroshi Shimizu, General Manager Motorsport Division, Honda Motor Co, Ltd. said: « First of all, we would like to thank all the customers over the world who chose the Civic Type R TCR and to race with the Honda brand. It is a great honour for Honda to receive this TCR Model of the Year award for the second consecutive year. It shows what a strong base car the Civic Type R production vehicle is and why it has strong support from customers. Winning this award not only proves that the Civic Type R TCR is a customer-supported product in the spirit of the category, but also we believe that the customer support we have provided in collaboration with JAS motorsport is working properly. At Honda we advocate ‘The Three Joys’ when delivering our products – The Joy of Buying, The Joy of Selling, and The Joy of Creating. TCR is based on the spirit of customer racing and being active in the category is a great opportunity to realise our philosophy. We sincerely hope that our customers will have more success and experience ‘The Power of Dreams’ in the 2021 season. »
Mads Fischer, JAS Motorsport TCR Project Leader, said: « It is a huge honour to see the Honda Civic Type R TCR named as the TCR Model of the Year, and even more so as the first car to win this prestigious award two years in a row. We are extremely proud to be a technical partner of Honda for over 20 years and to have achieved this success for them. This award is both a testament to the determination and professionalism of our customer TCR teams across the world and also a vindication of both the quality of the Honda Civic Type R production model and of the technical and sales support we offer to our customers. There is an incredibly hard-working group of people at our headquarters in Arluno, Italy, comprising mechanics, engineers, logistic, sales and support staff, and this shines a light on the fantastic job they have all done on the Civic Type R TCR project. »
WSC President Marcello Lotti said: « This second consecutive Model of the Year award for the Honda Civic Type R is testament to the professionalism and passion with which Honda and its technical partner, JAS Motorsport, have always supported their customer teams in all the TCR competitions around the world. Their efforts have been deservedly repaid with the brilliant results achieved by the drivers who were at the wheel of the many Civic cars that took to the track during this difficult season. »
Major championships won by the Honda Civic Type R TCR in 2020
TCR Denmark (Drivers) – Kasper H Jensen
TCR Germany Junior Cup – Marcel Fugel
New Zealand Endurance Championship Class 2 (1-hour) – Jordan Michels
Coppa Italia Turismo (Drivers) – Kevin Giacon
Coppa Italia Turismo (Seq Trophy) – Davide Nardilli
TCR Japan Saturday Series (Bronze Cup – Drivers) – Rio Shimono
Major TCR endurance races won by the Honda Civic Type R TCR in 2020
Nurburgring 24 Hours – Tiago Monteiro/Dominik Fugel/Markus Oestreich/Esteban Guerrieri (Fugel Sport)
Press Release,