We thought Honda had already forgotten about their own Type R Time Attack plan announced in March. But silly us, because WTCR driver Esteban Guerrieri recently took the turbo 2.0-litre Civic Type R to Magny-Cours, France and… attacked.

The result is a time of 2min 1.52sec, which is the new front-wheel drive record on the 4.4km race track. Mind you, the car used is stock standard right down to the same road tyres.

Speaking about the lap record, Esteban Guerrieri said: “The best thing about the Type R is that it gives you confidence. It’s very responsive and gives you good feedback. People call the Type R the ultimate performance hot hatch and we proved today that it really is; the car continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible from front wheel drive.”

The benchmark time represents the first success in the Type R Challenge 2018, which will see a team of Honda racing stars attempt to break front-wheel drive production car records at a range of legendary European racetracks in a production specification Honda Civic Type R.

Alas, no video. Come on, Honda! Really?