Mariani: The new Civic is a sound car!

Alessandro Mariani, team principal at Castrol Honda Team takes stock after the third test session with the new Civic WTCC.

How much demanding was to re-design the Civic to comply with the new regulations after one-and-a-half year spent in developing the previous version?

“The most demanding fact is that since February 2012 we have been working flat on designing, developing and building the WTCC cars. The switch to the new TC1 regulations meant that we had no time to pause for breath. However, this meant also a new challenge and motivations that help you to forget the tiredness coming from two years of full commitment.”

Instead of beginning to test with an hybrid car, you elected to start testing only once the new car has been finished. Why?

“We took also into account the plan of building a laboratory car just for testing the new 18” tyres. However, because finalizing the regulations was taking a longer time, we opted for start testing after the new car was ready. This was the only solution quick enough for building in time the two works cars and the additional two for the customer teams. Customers are an important part of Honda’s WTCC programme and we cannot be late in delivering their cars. We are happy we went this way, because after only a few test sessions the new Civic is already on a good level.”

Can you unveil further details about your relationship with the customer teams?

“We provide the car, a reference technician and all set-up data. We also keep them updated on every technical improvement. Honda’s policy is very much customer-oriented and we at JAS Motorsport fully share this view. And it pays off, as it was proved last year from Michelisz’s win at Suzuka.”

The new cars are more powerful, faster and have a better look. Are they more difficult to manage?

“If we speak about the chassis, they are even easier because of less constraints in suspension design. Setting them up is more difficult, because of the aerodynamics that is now an important factor; it changes from track to track and is influenced by a lot of parameters. This will favour teams and drivers who have had previous experience with formula and sports cars.”

You have just completed your third test session. Are you happy with how the car is developing?

“When you start testing with a car that was built for new technical regulations, the first thing you must seek is reliability. If the car is not reliable, you cannot test properly and this becomes a major problem when you are working on a tight schedule. We had a few youth issues and solved them quickly. We were able to investigate a couple of different options in the development, which proved that the car is sound and reacts always in the way we expect. Testing is crucial. We have started long after Citroën, but before the others. All in all we are happy, because the car is improving quickly and we are now focusing on the tuning set up for the homologation.”

Another important factor in the team are the drivers. Their skill, experience and also the relationship between them. How do you rate your pair of Tarquini and Monteiro?

“It is important that the test driver fits well in the team. In this respect we have a great feeling with Gabriele as we can understand if a solution is good or bad just by hearing him on the radio. And this accelerates the development significantly. Another important aspect is how the drivers get along together. We are lucky, because Gabriele and Tiago are close friends, which helps to have a relaxed atmosphere inside the team. Finally comes the technical relationship between them. Their driving styles are different, but we know that when Gabriele sets the car up for himself, Tiago is able to adapt it to his own style with only a few changes, which is a great advantage.”