Outgoing hot hatch beats previous front-drive benchmark at 5km South Australian circuit by more than 2sec
The Honda Civic Type R has set a new official front-wheel drive lap record at The Bend motorsport circuit in South Australia.
With TCR ace Tony D’Alberto at the wheel, the iconic Japanese hot hatch bested the previous record set by a Renault Megane Trophy RS in 2019 – not once but twice – earlier this month.
First, D’Alberto used a 2020 Honda Civic Type R to lap the 4.95km ‘International Circuit’ at Tailem Bend in 2:13.251 – undercutting the previous benchmark by a second.
He then went back out in the swansong Honda Civic Type R Limited Edition – an ever hotter version of the venerable hatch complete with stickier tyres and tauter suspension, and limited to just 20 examples nationally – to find yet another second, lowering the record to 2:12.260.
For reference, in the TCR race category in which D’Alberto was a runner-up in 2019, cars were lapping the circuit between 1:55 and 2:00.
Honda Australia director Stephen Collins explained the record attempt was originally due to coincide with the launch of the Civic Type R Limited Edition in 2021, as something of a send-off for the outgoing model, before the launch was curtailed by COVID-19.
“Our team were confident the regular production Civic Type R could beat the existing lap record at The Bend for a front-wheel drive road car and then go even quicker again in the Civic Type R Limited Edition to set a new record lap time,” said Collins.
“We were really keen to find another opportunity to take on the time attack challenge as a fitting farewell to this generation of Civic Type R, as it really closed the loop on what has been a hugely successful five year run for the car, bookended by lap record achievements.”
Other milestones recorded by the Civic Type R during its current generation – some now bettered by other manufacturers – include benchmark times at Bathurst’s Mount Panorama, Japan’s Suzuka circuit and the notorious Nurburgring Norschleife.
According to D’Alberto, who’ll race for Honda in TCR again in 2022, the Type R has potentially more time to gain at The Bend.
“The standard Civic Type R is beautifully balanced and just such a pleasure to drive on the track, while the Type R Limited Edition offers even more grip and speed, which really encourages you to go for it and try to extract the perfect lap from the car,” he said.
“If the conditions had been cooler I’m confident we could find a few more tenths and even get the Type R Limited Edition into the 2:11 bracket.
“But the aim was to set a new lap record for Honda and we actually achieved that with both cars, which shows just how good the Civic Type R is – I can’t wait to see what the engineers are able to achieve with the next generation model that’s now on the horizon.”
News of the Tailem Bend record comes after first details of the new 2023 Honda Civic Type R were announced last month, when the Japanese brand promised it will be “the best performing Civic Type R ever”.
Honda will reveal its all-new Type R, based on the new-generation Civic hatch, later this year ahead of its Australian release in either late 2022 or early 2023.
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Keyword: Honda Civic Type R sets new record at The Bend