Civic Type R TCR drivers begin new WTCR campaign at Nürburgring
NürburgringThe 2021 WTCR - FIA World Touring Car Cup season kicks off at the Nürburgring Nordschleife this weekend with the pair of Münnich Motorsport teams eager to start on a strong note with their Honda Civic Type R TCRs.
A double-header on the infamous 25.378-kilometre 'Green Hell', arguably the most demanding circuit in the world, is the first event of a planned eight-round, 16-race 2021 calendar which it is hoped will include a return to Asia.
Despite the exacting nature of the Nürburgring race weekend, the track is one at which all four Honda Racing drivers - who will represent the ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport and ALL-INKL.DE Münnich Motorsport teams - have pedigree.
ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport scored their best result in the WTCR Teams' championship in 2020, finishing second, and for a third year in a row will field Esteban Guerrieri and Nestor Girolami.
Esteban had another strong season in 2020, taking the title fight to the penultimate race of the season and winning four times, including at the Nürburgring. That made the Argentinian the first driver to record multiple race victories at the track in the WTCR era, having also won in 2018, and he also backed up last year's success with a class win in the Nürburgring 24 Hours.
Team-mate and compatriot Nestor made his own bit of Nordschleife history last year, recording the fastest ever TCR lap of the circuit in qualifying. His stunning pole effort of 8m51.802s, set in fading light, was more than a second faster than the second-best time.
A year earlier ‘Bebu’ was also involved in a daring side-by-side duel on the Döttinger Hohe from which he emerged on top to claim a podium finish.
ALL-INKL.DE meanwhile enter their second season in the WTCR, and also boast an unchanged line-up with Tiago Monteiro and Attila Tassi again paired.
Tiago - for whom 2021 will mark the 10th season in which he has been a Honda Racing driver - finished in the top 10 in both of last year’s WTCR races at the Nürburgring, but his crowning achievement came in the 24-hour race where, alongside Esteban, he guided a Civic Type R TCR to class honours - his second success in the car.
He will again dovetail his WTCR commitments with participation in the 24-hour race this weekend, with Nestor also among the four-driver line-up aiming to give the JAS Motorsport-built Civic Type R TCR its third-straight class success.
Already entering his third full-time campaign in the WTCR, 21-year-old Attila has been fast on his two previous visits to the Nürburgring. Having scored a fourth-place finish - the best result of his debut season - in 2019, he produced a composed and mature drive to score a podium in last year's main race, which was held in treacherous conditions.
"We have shown over three seasons now that the ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport/Honda Civic Type R TCR package is a strong force, so of course the aim is to continue that trend this year and hopefully fight for the title, especially after the details we have worked on over the winter. The Nürburgring should be a good place to start our WTCR campaign, particularly with the memory of my wins in the WTCR and the Nürburgring 24 Hours last year, but it's a track where you cannot afford to be complacent or rely on previous success. So I'm very focused on the challenge of this weekend in particular and eager to get going."
"We have shown over three seasons now that the ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport/Honda Civic Type R TCR package is a strong force, so of course the aim is to continue that trend this year and hopefully fight for the title, especially after the details we have worked on over the winter. The Nürburgring should be a good place to start our WTCR campaign, particularly with the memory of my wins in the WTCR and the Nürburgring 24 Hours last year, but it's a track where you cannot afford to be complacent or rely on previous success. So I'm very focused on the challenge of this weekend in particular and eager to get going."
"I'm really excited to start my third season in the WTCR with ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport and the Honda Civic Type R TCR. We've had a year of experience working together in one team, and spent the winter working very hard to be even more streamlined than last year. Of course going to the Nürburgring nobody quite knows what the weekend will be like, but the car has traditionally been good there and we also got some experience with all the conditions when we tested here last month. I had some very good moments in 2020 but needed some more consistency, so I hope the hard work over the winter both on improving the car and in preparing myself for the season to come will pay off."
"I'm really excited to start my third season in the WTCR with ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport and the Honda Civic Type R TCR. We've had a year of experience working together in one team, and spent the winter working very hard to be even more streamlined than last year. Of course going to the Nürburgring nobody quite knows what the weekend will be like, but the car has traditionally been good there and we also got some experience with all the conditions when we tested here last month. I had some very good moments in 2020 but needed some more consistency, so I hope the hard work over the winter both on improving the car and in preparing myself for the season to come will pay off."
"As we prepare for the opening round, I'm very happy to again be part of the ALL-INKL.DE Münnich Motorsport line-up and proud that my association with Honda is entering a 10th season. The car has been feeling really good in testing, so I'm hoping to start the season on the front foot and carry the momentum forward from there. We know the competition will be strong and we won't know the real order until we start at the Nürburgring, perhaps even later than that, but we are confident in the package we have and I am hungry for the season ahead."
"As we prepare for the opening round, I'm very happy to again be part of the ALL-INKL.DE Münnich Motorsport line-up and proud that my association with Honda is entering a 10th season. The car has been feeling really good in testing, so I'm hoping to start the season on the front foot and carry the momentum forward from there. We know the competition will be strong and we won't know the real order until we start at the Nürburgring, perhaps even later than that, but we are confident in the package we have and I am hungry for the season ahead."
"It's great to be starting my third season as a Honda Racing driver at a track where I have already finished on the podium. It won't count for so much when we get to the Nürburgring as you need to focus on what is happening in the moment, but still we can start the weekend with confidence knowing that both myself and the Honda Civic Type R TCR have gone well here for the past two years. I was pleased with my progress in the WTCR in 2020, finishing in the top three twice, so naturally this season my sights are set higher - the next step is to win a race."
"It's great to be starting my third season as a Honda Racing driver at a track where I have already finished on the podium. It won't count for so much when we get to the Nürburgring as you need to focus on what is happening in the moment, but still we can start the weekend with confidence knowing that both myself and the Honda Civic Type R TCR have gone well here for the past two years. I was pleased with my progress in the WTCR in 2020, finishing in the top three twice, so naturally this season my sights are set higher - the next step is to win a race."
