Spa Francorchamps, Belgium - Fasten your seat belt and get ready for the fastest three minutes of the week, as we ride along for a record lap of the iconic Belgian circuit with LMP2 class world champion and NSX-GT driver Bertrand Baguette in the ‘Type R Challenge’ Honda Civic.
Baguette’s time around the superfast seven-kilometre circuit of 2m53.72s was significantly faster than the old record, set in a previous-generation Type R in 2016.
This is the second of five planned attempts this year at setting front-wheel drive lap record times at classic European racing circuits, in a bog-standard Civic Type R with road tyres. The first is already done and dusted after WTCR driver Esteban Guerrieri took this car around Magny Cours in France in a record time for a front-wheel drive car of 2m01.51s.
Actually Honda claims it’s the third of six, because this Civic Type R already owns the front wheel-drive road car record for the Nordschleife at the Nurburgring at 7m43.8s, set in April 2017.
Still to come are Silverstone in Northamptonshire, where Jenson Button will be at the wheel, Estoril in Portugal at the hands of do local hero, WTCR driver Tiago Monteiro, and the Hungaroring outside Budapest, where BTCC driver Matt Neal will do the honours.