2023 Honda Civic Type R to make US debut at Indycar

MANILA: The Honda Indy 200 NTT Indycar Series weekend, which will happen on July 1 to 3 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, will see the US public debut of the all-new 2023 Civic Type R prototype. The highly anticipated Civic Type R will wear a distinctive camouflage made just for Type R, and serve as the presenting sponsor of the Honda Indy 200 race. Throughout the weekend, the car will perform numerous demonstration hot laps and will start the NTT Indycar Series race on July 3.

The all-new Honda Civic Type R has already proven its track-worthy skills, setting a new lap record for a front-wheel drive car at the famed Suzuka Circuit, home of the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix. The Civic Type R completed the 3.6-mile figure-eight configuration at Suzuka in two minutes, 23.120 seconds during final performance testing and evaluation.

This performance surpassed the previous track record set by the 2021 Honda Civic Type R Limited Edition, a lightweight, specially tuned, track-focused version of the outgoing car, by almost one second.

American Honda has a rich history of collaboration at  Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Honda was the first Japanese automaker to establish car production operations in the United States, with Honda of America Manufacturing in Marysville, Ohio opening in 1982. Since 1994, the company has had an Official Vehicle partnership with Mid-Ohio.

Today, Honda has several production sites in Ohio, as well as a major research and development facility. It employs over 13,000 people and has the capacity to manufacture over 650,000 vehicles and 1.18 million engines per year.

Since the Indy race series returned to Mid-Ohio under the Honda Indy 200 name in 2007, Honda drivers have won 11 of the 16 races, including a 1-2-3 podium sweep in 2019 as Dixon won his sixth Mid-Ohio event. Dixon's other Mid-Ohio victories were in 2007, 2009, 2011-12, and 2014, earning him the moniker "Mr. Mid-Ohio."  Honda's most recent win at its "home circuit" in Ohio came from rising sensation Colton Herta, who led 57 of the 75 laps on his way to his fourth career Indycar victory.

Photos from Honda

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