Y VA N M U L L E R
WorldMags.net
Honda must take the
fight to Citroen…
Lopez (#37) got the lion’s
share of Citroen glory
last season
too easily and it looks like they will win again.’
First it was not easy, because to arrive at this
level, that meant that we had to work hard.”
He jabs a finger at the table repeatedly to
emphasise his point.
“So that was not easy. We don’t know how
much they [Honda] have progressed over the
winter. We know we’ve progressed a bit; how
much, we don’t know, because you’re never sure
how much you’ve gained. Imagine if you gain one
tenth per day of testing. Does that mean 10 days,
one second? Twenty days, two seconds? Thirty
days, three seconds? It’s impossible – it doesn’t
exist, it doesn’t work like this. To calculate one
or two tenths is difficult. I don’t know how much
they will progress or how much Lada will progress.
Or the Chevrolet. We will only get a fix for the
year when we’re on the grid of the first race.”
That’s a fair point, but it glosses over some
important nuances; chiefly that while works
Last year the Citroen C-Elysee was the
complete package, but the WTCC’s well-tuned
performance-balancing system helped other
contenders remain in the hunt. Had the new
rules been confirmed earlier it might have been
more of a fight, but Citroen committed early and
enjoyed greater rewards from greater risk.
By contrast, Honda waited until the rules had
been ratified by the WMSC and therefore had
less development time. Now its ability to catch
up is constrained by the limited number of
‘jokers’ – each manufacturer can change the
specification of five homologated parts per year.
“We are working on both sides – engine and
chassis,” says Honda’s Gabriele Tarquini. “All of
the winter we’ve tested a new solution.
“Part of the solution was already homologated
for use at the first race. From the other elements,
we must choose which to homologate.
“We have two problems: one is to try to
improve the performance of the car, the other
is to identify which are the right solutions to
homologate – because we only have five
‘jokers’ during the season.”
The engine now has a higher compression
ratio and a new exhaust, according to Daisuke
Horiuchi, Honda’s Large Project Leader for Civic
WTCC Development. The ignition is being
painstakingly remapped too.
“With a higher compression ratio comes the
risk of knocking [pre-ignition],” he says. “So good
engine mapping is important – we are continuing
to develop this every time we test.
“Last year we were able to fit a bigger air
Honda drivers Tarquini and Monteiro have had
plenty of testing and will be in good shape, the
Honda privateers have only just received their
cars and will have to treat the opening races as
tests. Norbert Michelisz ran briefly at Barcelona,
but Rickard Rydell and Dusan Borkovic only had
time for the briefest of shakedowns in Italy
before their Civics were air-freighted to
Argentina for the first round. Six-foot-nine
Borkovic will need further modifications to his
cockpit before he can drive at 100 per cent.
Muller will also have to contend with other
drivers running Citroen machinery as the works
team expands to four cars. Ma Qing Hua will run
a full campaign after contesting a handful of
rounds last year, while Mehdi Bennani swaps
his Civic for a C-Elysee to be run by Loeb’s
eponymous team.
“I’m used to this,” says Muller. “I’m with
Citroen now in this situation but I had the same
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restrictor [enlarged from 33mm to 36mm] but
this did not raise our power so much.”
If the developments work, Honda’s works
drivers will spearhead the challenge because
most of their privateers have done little running,
having only just taken delivery of their cars.
Privateer Chevrolets may get in the mix, driven
by such redoubtable talents as Stefano D’Aste
and Tom Coronel but, since Coronel does not
have the latest engine spec, he is likely to
remain on the periphery, taking what he can.
The real enigma is Lada, Having tested
exclusively in private at ORECA’s Magny-Cours
base, the new Vesta is an unknown quantity. But,
even though the car was finished late, two of
the team’s three drivers – James Thompson
and Rob Huff – are proven winners.
…with the help of
veteran racer and
former champ Tarquini
thing in the past with Chevrolet and SEAT, and
before that with Vauxhall in the UK. It’s always
interesting and important to have some teammates at a good level because they push as well
to get more out of the team. Lopez, Loeb and
I are all very similar in terms of comments.
We all go in the same ways. That’s what we
need. It’s no problem, and so far it’s even an
advantage, to push the team.”
Only Loeb drove at the Barcelona test, having
missed other opportunities for seat time because
of his run in the World Rally Championshipopening Monte Carlo Rally. But it was interesting
to see – whether watching from the pitwall or
nipping up to the hospitality unit for coffee
– Muller was always there, soaking up every
piece of information, only briefly nudging the
team-radio headset away from his ears, while
Lopez went shopping with his girlfriend. From
such small nuances great results can come…
MARCH 5 2015 AUTOSPORT.COM 79
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CAN ANYONE CHALLENGE CITROEN?