Honda put the Civic 'Next Generation Touring Car' (NGTC) through its paces yesterday (21st February) at Brands Hatch circuit in Kent. The team is preparing the for the car's race debut when the 2012 British Touring Car Championship kicks off on 1st April.

Prior to the public track test Matt Neal and the Honda Racing team gave the car a trial run at the MIRA test track. For Tuesday's test Neal was joined by his team mate Gordon 'Flash' Shedden. Neal commented; "This is the first opportunity we have had to get behind the wheel to really see what the car has got. The team are really pleased with the results from the test at MIRA last week and I can't wait to finally start putting the car through its paces."

The purpose of the day was to see how the Civic performed on a track where the old S2000 Civic was 'very competitive'. Having established a baseline the team can then tune the car for the various circuits used in the BTCC season.

Some sources say that the next Civic Type R will use a similar turbocharged engine to that fitted to the BTCC car. A further test session for the race car is scheduled for tomorrow, 23rd February, at Donington Park.

John Lambert - 23 Feb 2012