- VGRT leads the way for Honda Civic Type R trio in sixth
- HART also notches top-10 finish, crosses the line eighth
- LA Honda World caught out by ill-timed caution in two-hour event
VGRT once again led the Honda charge in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, with co-drivers Victor Gonzalez and Karl Wittmer finishing in sixth in the Tioga Downs Casino Resort 120 aboard their #99 Honda Civic Type R TCR.
The team scored their best qualifying of the year, fifth, and even led in the hands of Gonzalez in the first half of the race. But, they had a slower pit stop than their competitors when they came in for a driver change with 54 minutes left to run in the two-hour race. Falling back to the 13th position, Wittmer would work his way up to sixth at the checkered flag.
The Honda-associate-run HART #89 Honda Civic Type R TCR machine finished just a tick behind, in eighth after starting in the 13th position. Co-drivers Steve Eich and Chad Gilsinger methodically worked their way through the field for the Marysville, Ohio-based team to climb into the top 10.
LA Honda World returned for this weekend's race and while teammates Mike LaMarra and Ryan Eversley looked strong at various points in the weekend, they were caught out by the timing of a yellow flag that caused them to miss the 40-minute minimum drive time for Eversley. To further compound their day, the car would be retired late in the race, following an issue with the throttle position sensor.
Tioga Downs Casino Resort 120 Michelin Pilot Challenge Honda TCR Race Results
- 6th #99 Victor Gonzalez and Karl Wittmer, VGRT Racing Honda Civic Type R TCR
- 8th #89 Chad Gilsinger, and Steve Eich, HART Honda Civic Type R TCR
- DNF #73 Ryan Eversley and Mike LaMarra, LA Honda World Honda Civic Type R TCR
Quotes
Victor Gonzalez (#99 VGRT Honda Civic Type R TCR) finished sixth: "This team has been growing, and every race we're learning more and more. TCR in IMSA is really hard—everybody is so good. But, our Honda Civic Type R was really good, Karl [Wittmer, co-driver] did an excellent job, it was just a little mishap during our pit stop. It wasn't the podium [result] we wanted, but we're running really strong. We led some laps, we ran up front, now on to Canada and to keep pushing. We want to win really bad, to get back to the podium, to get another [win] for Honda and HPD!"
Karl Wittmer (#99 VGRT Honda Civic Type R TCR) finished sixth: "It feels great, today was positive in all terms. Yes, we got caught out on the pit stop and with the yellow, but the team rallied and we stuck with the procedure and kept pushing and just picked off other cars one by one. That was the plan, keep the car clean for Canadian Tire Motorsport Park—because we have back to back weekends here in IMSA—and put our heads down and be smart. What we did was great! The folks at HPD were awesome, the folks at VGRT were awesome and I can't thank them enough. I'm so excited for CTMP next weekend, my first hometown race in four years. It's a little nerve wracking with the pressure, but I thrive under pressure. I'm looking forward to the team visiting Canada for the first time, maybe I'll take them out for poutine! But mostly I'm looking forward to, hopefully, a good result at my home race."
Next
The Michelin Pilot Challenge next heads north of the border to Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, outside Toronto, for the CTMP 120. The race can be streamed live on NBC Peacock.
HPD has three ready-to-race Civic models for touring car competition. The line starts with the affordable and reliable Civic Si TCA race car, then leads to the Civic Type R TC racer that puts legendary Type R performance on track, and culminates with the no-compromise, championship-winning Civic Type R TCR race car. Our unparalleled trackside support at every level from HPD engineers is a unique benefit that no other manufacturer can offer. Find out more about these cars and our touring programs at: https://hpd.honda.com/Motorsports/Touring
Honda Racing social media content and videos from Watkins Glen International Raceway are available on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD) and on Twitter at (https://twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD). Produced by CoForce Digital Media, YouTube video packages can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV.
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