Jenson Button Sets Lap Record At Bathurst With Honda Civic Type R

As it happens, the racing driver and the Land Down Under go a long, long way back. Out of 17 outings in a Formula 1 car, Button managed to score three wins in Australia at Albert Park in Melbourne. Not bad at all considering how for forgetful his final years with McLaren were, an era when Ron Dennis was still around and the British team was supplied with power units by Honda.

The record-setting lap at Mount Panorama in Bathurst is the fifth and final leg of the series that Honda started in 2018. Not a bad way to end this adventure considering the fifth and final leg also happens to be the first one outside of Europe, don’t you think?

“The Honda Civic Type R really is the perfect vehicle for a time attack challenge like this. And it’s 100 percent a road-legal car that’s straight off the production line, so to do a 2-minute 35-second lap is fantastic,” said Button. “It’s definitely an exciting car for enthusiasts.”

But wait, there’s more! Honda of Australia celebrates 50 years of existence, and not that long ago, a handful of gold chrome-wrapped machines were put together to mark this milestone. “Machines” as in everything from a lawn mower to a generator, CBR1000RR Fireblade motorcycle, the Civic Type R, and NSX hybrid supercar.

Over in the Oz, the Civic Type R is available in a feature-packed specification. That’s only one trim level, and pricing starts at 51,990 dollars. The question is, what do you get for that hard-earned cash?

First things first, four-wheel adaptive dampers with three driving modes. The list of go-faster goodies also consists of Brembo brakes on all corners of the car, 20-inch wheels wrapped in Continental SportContact 6 tires, Honda Sensing driver-assist suite, and the 2.0-liter VTEC Turbo four-cylinder engine that develops 320 PS (235 kW) and 400 Nm (295 pound-feet) of torque.