News
Reigning TCR champ Tony D’Alberto to debut new Honda Civic Type R FL5 TCR
Reigning Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series champion Tony D’Alberto will switch to the new Honda Civic Type R FL5 TCR later this season ahead of the TCR World Tour events at Sydney Motorsport Park and Bathurst.
Wall Racing has secured a brand-new Civic Type R FL5 TCR from Honda’s homologation team JAS Motorsport and will have the car in Australia ready for the latter rounds of the 2023 Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series.
The new Honda debuted at the start of 2023 in international TCR competition and has demonstrated front-running form in a variety of series across the world.
JAS Motorsport factory driver Nestor Girolami has led the development of the new model based on the recently released Civic Type R FL5 road-going version and has finished a best of third so far during the inaugural TCR World Tour.
Key features of the new Civic Type R FL5 TCR include the updated exterior providing improved downforce, a new chassis for enhanced cornering stability and greater driver safety, an updated brake package and new transmission.
It will replace the Civic Type R FK8 TCR used by D’Alberto so successfully since TCR entered Australia in 2019. It was a car that he scored numerous pole positions, race wins and podiums with, culminating in the 2022 Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series title victory.
TCR Australia rookie Brad Harris will continue in the previous model Civic Type R FK8 TCR for Wall Racing as he continues to rise up the field in his Exclusive Switchboards-backed entry.
D’Alberto, Harris and Wall Racing will line-up in their current cars in the next round of the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series at Queensland Raceway on August 11-13.
QUOTES
Tony D’Alberto
Driver, #1 Honda Wall Racing, Honda Civic Type R TCR
“It’s great for Wall Racing, Honda and myself to have a brand-new Civic Type R enter the series,” said D’Alberto.“From Honda Australia’s point of view it makes a lot more sense to be racing the car that is based on the FL5 road car. You don’t get many opportunities to race new cars in your career so it will be really special to debut this car later in the year.”“We have been in regular conversations with Nestor and JAS Motorsport, and from all reports, the new Civic is just a little nicer in all areas, so I really can’t wait to get my hands on it. And it is perfect timing too – right ahead of the TCR World Tour for the final two rounds at Sydney and Bathurst.”
David Wall
Team owner, Wall Racing
“Having the new Honda Civic Type R TCR is a very exciting proposition for our team,” said Wall.
“Wall Racing was one of the first teams to commit to TCR, and now we are in the next phase, bringing a new car in, which is great news for all parties.
“We are in regular contact with JAS Motorsport, and they are giving a lot of information about the cars. We are also in touch with Nestor, and he is really enthusiastic about the performance of the cars, as well as its comfortability.
“It’s great for our team that we can upgrade to the current spec car at the start of the model’s lifecycle and we are looking forward to having it for the tail end of the season.
“The plan for our team is to return to three Honda TCR entries. For us, it’s the perfect number and we hope to make another announcement on this in the near future.”