Honda make the 11,000km trip south-west to Argentina this weekend to continue the battle for the FIA World Touring Car Championship.
A double-podium finish at his home event in Portugal last time out allowed Tiago Monteiro to re-take the lead of the Drivers’ title race and head to South America with a slender four-point advantage in a battle that’s becoming more competitive round by round.
Among five drivers challenging hard for the points lead is Tiago’s Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team-mate Norbert Michelisz; victorious on the streets of Vila Real and with momentum behind him that gives him a great chance to push his championship challenge forwards this weekend.
The Autodromo Termas di Rio Hondo, located in Northern Argentina, has provided several highlights for Honda since it was introduced into the WTCC in 2013.
Tiago was a podium finisher in Argentina in 2015 and is aiming to add to the two victories and six rostrum finishes he’s achieved already this year.
Norbert, meanwhile, has been in superb form recently and has slashed his deficit to the lead of the championship from 62 points to just 27 over the past two events thanks to back-to-back pole positions, a second place in Germany and his first win of 2017 in Portugal last time out.
Should the Hungarian make it three poles in a row, he will become only the fifth driver in WTCC history to achieve the feat.
Ryo Michigami produced his best weekend of the season in Portugal, belying his lack of experience of the Vila Real circuit to produce consistently fast times in practice, qualify inside the top 10 and lead the Opening Race from the reversed-grid pole position.
Sadly, his run of bad luck continued on race day with a technical issue and a puncture denying him the podium finish he was set to achieve, but he’s aiming for better results this weekend.
The Hondas will carry 60kg of compensation weight this weekend, making them 10kg heavier than they were in Portugal.
Tiago Monteiro 18
“To be leading the Drivers’ Championship at the end of the European leg of the season was the aim, and we’ve achieved this. But you don’t win anything for leading at the halfway point, so the job now is to continue the strong performances we’ve put in race after race, starting in Argentina. I like the circuit at Termas de Rio Hondo and I’ve finished in the top six in seven of the eight WTCC races held there, so I’m heading in high on confidence to score a big haul of points and strengthen my position in the championship.”
- Castrol Honda WTCC
Norbert Michelisz 5
“I’m heading to Argentina on a high after winning in Portugal and I’m half as many points away from the championship lead as I was two rounds ago, so I’m aiming to make the most of the momentum I’ve built up. I was on the front row at Termas de Rio Honda last year and led the Main Race for a long time, so I can be pretty confident that Honda will bring a strong car to South America. My aim is the same as it was at the start of the year; to be World Champion, so we have to continue to push hard in Argentina to achieve this result.”
- Castrol Honda WTCC
Ryo Michigami 34
“A challenging first half of the season came to an end with a test in Italy, where we made a major breakthrough, and my most competitive performance of the year in Portugal where I know I could have been on the podium, at the very least, without a technical issue that affected us on race day. That’s given me a huge amount of confidence that we’re now heading in the right direction with my car and my driving. I’ve never raced in Argentina before so the circuit will take some learning, but I’m looking forward to it.”