Nojiri: Honda Can’t Yet Target Title With New Civic

Honda is not yet at the stage where it can aim to target this year’s SUPER GT title with the all-new Civic Type R-GT, admits Tomoki Nojiri.

The Sakura-based manufacturer has elected to replace the NSX-GT with an all-new GT500 car based upon the Civic Type R road car for the upcoming season, marking the first time a five-door design has ever been used in the championship’s top class.

Nojiri was part of the car’s initial rollout at Okayama International Circuit last July, and since then testing has taken place at a variety of tracks in Japan as well as Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit, where the first group test of 2024 took place in January.

However, Honda has consistently lagged behind GT500 rivals Toyota and Nissan in recent tests at Sepang, Okayama and Suzuka.

Nojiri was part of the lineup for the No. 100 Team Kunimitsu car at Sepang, before making his debut in the car he will race this season, the No. 8 ARTA machine, in the first domestic test of the off-season at Okayama in early February.

In that test, the Civic’s best time in that test was around half a second off the pace set by the No. 36 TOM’S Toyota, while there was a similar margin the following week at Suzuka.

While he feels Honda is making progress with development of the new car each time it runs, Nojiri gave a downbeat assessment of where the Civic Type R-GT stands currently in relation to the 2024-spec Nissan Z and Toyota GR Supra. 

“When you develop a new car, you obviously discover things that you can improve that allow you to become faster, but considering the constraints of the rules, sometimes it’s difficult to address all the problems you would like,” he told Sportscar365. 

“Even with these limitations, every time we run we are using new items, and it feels like there is progress. However, if you adopt the mindset that progress is meaningless unless we are able to beat our rivals, then I think we still have to get faster. 

“Honestly, at this stage, we are not at the point where we can say that we are definitely aiming for the title with this car.

“The time until the opening round is short, and it feels like there are a lot of things we still have to do.”

For this season, Nojiri is joined by a new teammate in the No. 8 ARTA car in the form of Nobuharu Matsushita, who moves across from Real Racing.

The 34-year-old says the main difference between working with Matsushita and previous teammate Toshiki Oyu, who has switched to Toyota for 2024, is the way that he is not afraid to voice his opinion about how the Team Mugen-run squad can improve.

“I’ve known him since he was five, six years old, so I’ve known him for a long time and I thought I knew him really well,” said Nojiri of Matsushita. 

“But I’ve realised [since working with him] he says a lot of very honest things. He is always saying what we can improve and do better, so it’s very reassuring. 

“He insists on things quite strongly, but when you have two drivers who have the same opinion on things, that’s very important for the team. 

“Of course, Oyu’s performance was very high as well, but in order to win, you have to change things not only about yourself but also about the environment you’re in.

“[Matsushita] is the type of person who thinks about these things, so in that sense he’s been a really good addition.”

The entire GT500 field is set to participate in another two-day manufacturers’ test this week at Suzuka, beginning on Thursday.