Touring car races have always been praised for their close, heart-pounding action as machines that are based on normal commuter cars or their performance equivalents. However, besides the press releases from Hyundai and Lynk & Co, TCR has largely been overlooked by many.

Two Filipino racers have competed in TCR history, such as Daniel Miranda in 2019 and, more recently, Red Diwa—both in TCR Asia under Eurasia Motorsport. Now, an enthusiastic owner in the Philippines has bought one in from the Land of the Rising Sun to shake up the local motorsport scene.

This machine is the Honda Civic FK7 TCR, built in license by JAS Motorsport, which has been building race cars for the Japanese brand since 1998. As the chassis code suggests, its body is not based on the Civic Type R but rather on the narrower Civic Hatchback.

However, under the hood is still the powerful K20C1, a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine modified to TCR regulations that produces 340hp and 420Nm. Unlike its road-going counterpart, the FK7 is paired with an Xtrac six-speed sequential transmission, which is standard across other TCR cars.

Since 2018, the FK7 TCR has fought against the likes of Audi, Seat/Cupra, Volkswagen, Lynk & Co, and Hyundai. Despite not winning the World Touring Car Cup, it was the most competitive vehicle worldwide in 2019 and 2020, earning the TCR Model of the Year award in those years.

This particular racer lived its life in Japan under J’s Racing, one of the biggest names in the Honda tuning scene. The number 69 was driven by its founder, Junichi Umemoto, in TCR Japan during the 2023 season, finishing in sixth place in both Saturday and Sunday Series.

The following year, Umemoto switched to the latest Civic FL5 TCR in a smaller field due to dwindling entries in the series, which led to TCR Japan folding by the start of 2025. It is assumed that the FK7 has been sitting dormant for almost two years until a buyer in the Philippines decided to snag it.

The Autoholic Racing Paddock Club posted a surprise update on October 22, showing the J’s Racing-branded Civic TCR sitting at the paddock of Clark International Speedway. Japanese driver Kunihiro Iwatsuki took a couple of laps and gave consistent times around the 2:01 mark.

Aside from that, DJ Yarte of Simple Racing Solutions explains that Iwatsuki and his team also provided training and technical insights to the local mechanics for future track days and race weekends. That means this racer will see more seat time in Clark, Batangas, and Pradera Verde sooner or later.

It’s thrilling to witness a piece of international motorsport history, both big and small—not only showcased in the Philippines, but also competing alongside local racers as if it were in its prime. It might have one race season under its belt, but this Civic TCR doesn’t appear to be on its last legs.