- Honda World #37 Honda Civic Type R TCR finishes third in Lime Rock
- Mat Pombo scores fifth pole position in six IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge races in 2023
- VGRT #99 and LA Honda World #73 both score top-10s for Honda
It was a return to the podium for the #37 Honda Civic Type R TCR team, as Ryan Eversley and Mat Pombo drove to a third place finish at Lime Rock Park aboard their LA Honda World machine.
Starting from pole—his fifth in six races in the 2023 season–Pombo would lead throughout his stint before handing over to Eversley halfway through the 100-minute Pilot Challenge event.
Unfortunately, during their pitstop, the team had a small miscue that left them without a full load of fuel for Eversley's run to the checkers. Despite his valiant effort to hang on to the lead while saving enough fuel to make it to the end, Eversley would drop to P3 at the line.
The duo would combine to lead 84 of the 107 laps run during the race.
The sister LA Honda World #73 Honda Civic Type R TCR of Mike LaMarra and William Tally would advance from 14th on the grid to 10th at the finish, while the #99 VGRT Civic of Victor Gonzalaz and Karl Wittmer would finish eighth.
Lime Rock Park 100 Honda TCR Race Results
- 3rd - #37 Ryan Eversley+Mat Pombo, LA Honda World Honda Civic Type R TCR
- 8th - #99 Victor Gonzalez+Karl Wittmer, VGRT Racing Honda Civic Type R TCR
- 10th - #73 William Tally+Mike LaMarra, LA Honda World Honda Civic Type R TCR
Quotes
Mat Pombo (Driver #37 LA Honda World Honda Civic Type R TCR) finished third: "Ryan and I have finished two races this year, and we have two podiums! We had a little fuel issue on the refill, so it was a little bit dicey on if we were going to make it. But Ryan did a great job fuel saving. I wish we could have raced for it, it would have been fun, but we'll take the podium! Car's straight, team gets to go home—we've been working them hard. Gotta thank HPD, LA Honda World, Mario and JAS for building a great car. Honda, here we go!"
Ryan Eversely (Driver #37 LA Honda World Honda Civic Type R TCR) finished third: "It's a big deal for the guys on this team! We've had such a horrible year. Five poles in six races, but only one podium until today so not a lot to show for the speed. These poor guys, they didn't get to go home after Watkins Glen. The talk of the radio on the cool-down lap was 'hey, everyone gets to go home!' because they've been staying in Indy to work on the cars and get them ready for this East coast swing. I'm happy for the LA Honda World guys to get another podium, and happy for HPD. Hopefully we can close out the year with some more success"
Next
The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge next heads to the famed Road America circuit in Elkhart Lake, WI, for the Road America 120. The race will 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
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