Honda Teams Expect Stronger Civic Showing in Year Two

Photo: Honda

Honda GT500 outfits Team Kunimitsu and ARTA are expecting a stronger showing from the Civic Type R-GT in its second season of SUPER GT competition.

The radical four-door Civic enjoyed modest success in its debut season as the replacement for the NSX-GT, scoring a single victory in the fourth round at Fuji with ARTA duo Tomoki Nojiri and Nobuharu Matsushita and three pole positions.

Kunimitsu pair Naoki Yamamoto and Tadasuke Makino finished second overall, albeit 33 points behind Sho Tsuboi and Kenta Yamashita in the No. 36 TOM’S Toyota GR Supra.

Honda enjoyed a strong start to pre-season testing last month at Sepang as the No. 100 Kunimitsu car set the quickest time on two of the four days and ended up fastest overall, narrowly ahead of the No. 3 NISMO Nissan Z.

Kunimitsu’s chief engineer Satofumi Hoshi told Sportscar365 that he believes the test shows that the deficit between Honda and the all-conquering GR Supra has narrowed.

He cited a relative last-minute change in last year’s technical regulations, with GT500 cars having their ride heights increased by 5mm to decrease cornering speeds, as one of the reasons why the Civic didn’t reach its full potential in its first season.

“I have some confidence for short runs compared to last year,” said Hoshi. “Now we have one year’s experience [with the Civic], and the performance is definitely getting better and better. The gap between Toyota and Honda is closer now, I think. 

“Last year, we had the regulation change with the ride height. During the Sepang test, we don’t know how much margin Toyota and Nissan took with the ride height, but we were quite strict, so the downforce level was quite low. 

“This year, the regulations are clear, so I think it’s one of the reasons that the results are closer between the manufacturers.”

ARTA’s technical director Tomo Koike offered similar sentiments, downplaying the team’s No. 16 car’s relative lack of headline pace at Sepang.

The No. 16 car was ninth-fastest of the 11 cars present, with Hiroki Otsu posting a best lap time 0.611 seconds slower than Makino in the Kunimitsu Civic.

“I think the basic set-up of the Civic is now more concrete,” Koike told Sportscar365. “Last year, our setup for each round changed a lot. 

“We didn’t know how to set up the car properly because it was the car’s first year and the aerodynamics are completely different from the NSX. We didn’t know what ride height was suitable to gain maximum aero. We learned a lot last year.

“[At Sepang] we struggled in the qualifying simulation because we were focused on the test menu, trying many different tire compounds, and our set-up was not the best.”

Despite Honda’s strong showing in Malaysia, Hoshi cautioned that Toyota still appeared to have the edge on long-run pace, and also highlighted that the title-winning No. 36 TOM’S car was one of a handful of GT500 cars to have been absent from the test.

“If the No. 36 was there, I think the situation would have been different,” he said. “So we don’t know their performance yet.

“It is difficult to say how good our performance was, but the No. 14 [Rookie Racing] car’s long run pace was quite good. So I think we still have to catch up with Toyota.”

Koike Hopes New Overseeing Role Will Boost ARTA

The Team Mugen-run ARTA operation has revamped its technical structure this year with Koike, who largely focused on Super Formula last year, taking on the newly-created role of technical director overseeing both of the team’s cars.

Koike believes that having engineers and mechanics from both sides of the ARTA garage, as well as all four of the team’s drivers, present for the Sepang test to share the No. 16 car was an important first step in making the most of the team’s two-car setup.

“Last year we couldn’t maximize [the benefits of having two cars],” he admitted. “Our two engineers [Kaito Tsuji and Kimitoshi Sugisaki] were focused on their own cars and working independently, so they didn’t talk to each other much.

“This year my role is to ensure good communication within the team. Sepang was a really good opportunity to work with all four drivers and the engineers from both cars.”

Koike added that he believes ARTA will benefit from keeping consistent driver lineups, with Honda having confirmed last month that Nojiri and Matsushita will remain a pair in the No. 8 car with Otsu once again sharing the sister No. 16 machine with Ren Sato.

ARTA will continue its testing program next week at Okayama with the No. 8 car, with the No. 16 not due to reappear until the official test at the same track in March.