Former F1 racer Johnny Herbert has been signed to drive the Honda Civic Type R for the final three rounds of the British Touring Car Championship season. The Ex-F1 ace will race for Team Dynamics who have won the championship twice with Honda in the past five years.
Johnny, who won three times during his F1 career, will take over from James Thompson for the BTCC meets at Silverstone, Rockingham and Brands Hatch, with James last run in the Honda Civic coming this weekend at Knockhill.
James, who joined the team for the second round of the season at Thruxton, has already won on three occasions this year and heads to Scotland sitting inside the top six in the championship standings, despite missing the opening rounds.
Commitments prior to signing with the team prevent James from completing the season, but it opens the door for Herbert one of the most popular figures on the British motor sport scene to make his BTCC debut.
When he hits the track at Silverstone at the end of the month, Johnny will follow in the footsteps of drivers like Jim Clark, Sir Jack Brabham and Nigel Mansell all of whom enjoyed success in both F1 and the BTCC.
Johnny has already had chance to sample the Super 2000cc Civic after spending half a day at the wheel of the car at Rockingham during summer testing.
“I m really excited to be racing in the Civic,†said Herbert. “It s very different to what I was used to in Formula 1 but no less of an adrenaline rush. I can t wait to get behind the wheel at Silverstone and build on the great result the team has had already this season.â€
The announcement was made after Johnny Herbert appeared as the mystery guest in A Question of Motor Sport , held for 150 guests and competition winners at Chatham Honda earlier this evening.
Source: Honda
