Honda’s record road trip with its Type R hot hatch continues, with the car setting a new lap record at the Estoril circuit in Portugal. 

The Type R set a 2:01.84 record for a front-wheel drive production car driven by Honda WTCR pilot Tiago Monteiro. 

The 2.6-mile track has two hairpins, a difficult chicane and a long main straight, with drivers having to master a broad range of speeds over one lap. 

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Speaking about his benchmark time, Tiago Monteiro said: “We came here with a goal to beat the existing lap record set by the previous car but you can never take anything for granted. You have to have supreme confidence in the car to attack around Estoril, and the new Type R is just so powerful, smooth and confidence-inspiring. We beat the lap record, smashed the record actually.”

“The Type R is very stable and has very good braking efficiency and an amazing engine so it just feels like you are driving a race car – on the track it’s easy to forget that it’s a proper road car, but then you can drive it home."

The new record at Estoril is the fourth front-wheel drive lap record set by Honda in 2018 – the Type R has also claimed record times at Silverstone, Spa-Francorchamps and Hungaroring. So far in 2018, Honda has exceeded the times it set at all of these circuits back in 2016 when it made a similar campaign with the previous version of the Type R. 

The Estoril circuit was used for the Portuguese Grand Prix between 1984 and 1996, with the last race providing the scene for a Jacques Villeneuve move on Michael Schumacher that established the Canadian driver as a solid F1 talent as he drove around the outside of the then-double champion on the last corner, a move many thought impossible. 

Gallery: Honda Civic Type R Estoril