800 km of test for Tarquini and Monteiro

The Honda Racing Team J.A.S. completed their first test of the season yesterday at Valencia, where Gabriele Tarquini and Tiago Monteiro completed nearly 300 kilometres at the wheel of the Honda Civic test car.

This brought the total amount of kilometres to more than 800 over the three days, from Wednesday to Friday, that were covered without any technical issue.

Tarquini was happy to sit again in the car he hadn’t driven since last August’s test at Portimão: “I was pleased to see that the Civic has made significant progress, which was the result of the experience gained in the three events of the past season. On the other hand I was disappointed to find that the track had been resurfaced. I had tested a lot there with SEAT, and I counted on that
experience to evaluate the performance of our car. Unfortunately the new tarmac made impossible to make any comparison.”

Tarquini and Monteiro focused on testing new parts that have been designed for the 2013 season. “This was our priority, because we had to verify and check some parts, like the suspension, that cannot be changed once the car is homologated. I am confident we have done a good job, especially because we had the confirmation that, following last Summer’s tests, we were heading in the right direction.”

Team manager Alessandro Mariani commented: "Today, as planned, we have finalised the set-up of the Civic, optimising the different configurations for both drivers. The new asphalt at Valencia prevented a significant comparison with the performance of the 2012 WTCC race, but the performance, considering it was for test purposes, is extremely encouraging. After three days, we are really satisfied with the test, which was essential to decide the specifications of the 2013 Honda Civic."

The team will test again in Spain, on the second week of February at the Circuito Motorland Aragón.