【2021 End Of Season Review】Victories give Civic Type R TCR new WTCR record

Tiago Monteiro, Attila Tassi, and Nestor Girolami were all victorious at the wheel of the car, while Esteban Guerrieri took three podiums as he maintained his record of going to every WTCR season finale in mathematical contention for the title.

As part of a wide raft of calendar changes, the series organiser announced in January that the planned curtain raiser at the Hungaroring would move to August, with the season’s start instead moved to the Nürburgring Nordschleife weekend on 3-5 June.

When the campaign did get under way, it could hardly have begun in more auspicious fashion for the Civic Type R TCR racers. For a second year in a row, Girolami took pole position around the fearsome 25.378-kilometre Nürburgring circuit, with the second ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport car of Guerrieri qualifying third.

More was to come on raceday, too, as Monteiro pounced at the end of the final lap to end a near two-year wait for victory in the opening race of the season, a result that was followed up by a strong third for Girolami in Race Two.

The pace of the Civic Type R TCR remained imperious at Estoril, the second round of the season, where the quartet secured four of the top five positions in qualifying - headed by Guerrieri, who led a 1-2-3 in the times from Monteiro and Girolami.

Circumstances conspired to prevent Guerrieri - who had difficulty seeing the lights from the pole position grid slot - and Monteiro - who led comfortably until there was an issue with his bonnet - from winning on Sunday, but Tassi upheld Honda honour by keeping a pack at bay in the closing stages of Race Two, the 22-year-old taking his first WTCR victory in the process.

Results were harder to come by at the following two rounds at Aragon and the Hungaroring, as compensation weight was introduced, though Girolami qualified an excellent fourth and finished second on the road in Race Two in Hungary before being demoted to fifth.

An overhaul of the second half of the season was announced prior to the Hungary round, with the WTCR’s planned return to Asia put on ice. In place of that leg came maiden visits to Most in Czechia, Pau-Arnos in France, Italian circuit Adria - delayed from early August - and Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix venue Sochi.

Despite carrying the maximum 60kg of compensation weight for a third round in a row, the Civic Type R TCR was on song at Most, with Girolami surviving a tip from behind at Turn 1 to win Race One, and Guerrieri avoiding the same melee to complete a 1-2 behind his team-mate from ninth on the grid.

Having not stood on the podium in the first half of the season, Guerrieri soon made it two rostrum finishes in a row by taking an excellent third in Race Two, resisting pressure from the points leader throughout.

The Argentinian was again the highest scoring of the Honda Racing quartet at Pau-Arnos, taking fourth- and seventh-place finishes on a weekend where the Civic Type R TCR was far from the fastest package.

Girolami aided his team-mate’s bid supremely in both races, so a puncture that dropped him from sixth in Race Two was a cruel end to his day, while ALL-INKL.DE Münnich Motorsport also completed a miraculous repair of Monteiro’s car after he was fired off at high speed by a rival in Race One.

A third podium of the campaign for Guerrieri was the highlight of the Adria weekend, and ensured he went to the final round third in the standings.

Those hopes were dashed early in a sodden Race One at Sochi, though, as Guerrieri crashed on the opening lap. Having jumped up to fourth at the start, Esteban was squeezed by another title contender onto the painted line beyond the track’s edge and lost control of his car.

The damage from that put Guerrieri out of Race Two - meaning just two Civic Type R TCRs contested the finale, with Monteiro ruled out while he was treated for a bacterial chest infection. Nevertheless, Tassi ended the season with a storming drive to fourth from 12th on the grid, having finished seventh in Race One, while Girolami also brought home a seventh place. A day earlier he’d proved the car’s one-lap pace by qualifying third.

The three 2021 wins mean the Honda Civic Type R TCR now stands alone as the only car to have won in every season of WTCR competition, and has racked up 20 wins in the series.

Race Report

• Rd.01 Germany Monteiro makes a winning start to WTCR season at Green Hell

• Rd.02 Portugal First win for Tassi puts Civic Type R TCR on top of the world

• Rd.03 Spain Civic Type R TCR drivers grind out Aragon points finishes

• Rd.04 Hungary Girolami denied podium after determined drive in Hungary

• Rd.05 Czech Republic Return to winning ways for the Honda Civic Type R TCR

• Rd.06 France Guerrieri keeps sight of points lead at Pau-Arnos

• Rd.07 Italy Adria podium keeps Honda Racing driver Guerrieri in title fight

• Rd.08 Russia Tassi leads Civic Type R TCR charge in season finale

• Standings