- Spencer Bucknum of LA Honda World Racing put on an impressive show with a 1st and 2nd place finish in his first visit to Sebring
- Honda Civics handled the bumpy Sebring surface well – with a total of five podiums and two pole positions across the three classes
- Skip Barber Racing School’s William Lambros earned a double TCA class podium in his Honda Civic Si FE1
With just four races (over two weekends) remaining on the 2023 TC America powered by Skip Barber calendar, the teams traveled to historic Sebring International Raceway in Florida for this weekend’s penultimate event. The bumpy and wide 17 turn 3.74-mile circuit provided some of the closest door-to-door racing all season.
TCA Honda Civic Si
Despite missing most of practice due to a mechanical issue, at a track he had never raced on, Spencer Bucknum qualified his Honda Civic Si FE1 on the TCA pole. In Saturday’s opening race, the LA Honda World Racing driver was able to go hold off fellow Civic Si driver William Lambros all race for a Honda 1-2 finish. The two drivers were never separated by more than a couple tenths of a second the entire race.
In Race 2 on Sunday, Bucknum battled the entire 40 minutes with the 2nd place Devin Anderson, who he is also fighting for the overall season championship. Swapping positions multiple times, and taking many turns side-by-side, neither driver ever led by more than a couple car lengths. Bucknum took the white flag in first but slid off track with a couple turns remaining and recovered for a solid 2nd. Lambros was poised to battle for the win again on Sunday. An early penalty moved him to the back of the field, but Lambros was able to recover for another third-place finish.
With his 4th win of the year and only having missed the podium once all season, Bucknum will bring an unofficial three-point championship lead into the final weekend at Indianapolis.
TCX Honda Civic Type R
Daijiro Yoshihara had to start in 7th position on Saturday after losing a wheel in qualifying. But he was able to take his Honda Civic Type-R TCX car through the field and pressured for the final podium spot before finishing just 0.1 behind in 4th.. On Sunday, he drove a clean and consistent race, never putting a wheel off-track for another 4th place finish.
TC Honda Civic Type R
Celso Neto was 3rd in the season standings entering Saturday’s race where he qualified on the outside of the front row. Fellow Civic Si competitor Jeremiah Burton started 6th after a big accident in qualifying. Nelson was able to join the podium as he came home 3rd on Saturday; and rookie driver Burton gained more valuable experience Saturday bringing his Civic home in 5th.
Neto, who is still looking for his first win this season to go along with a long string of podiums, was able to bring home a 5th place finish on Sunday.
Quote
Spencer Bucknum (#5 LA Honda World Racing Honda Civic Si FE1), TCA race winner after Saturday’s win: ““We needed that one, it was huge to get a win. It was a hard weekend, we had to replace an engine and we got minimal test time so to bounce back with a win and a pole today, that was awesome. Huge thanks to the whole LA Honda World Crew and HPD, I couldn’t do it without them.”
Next
The Honda Civic Type-R and Civic Si Touring Car teams will head to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the final two races of the season in Indianapolis, Indiana for rounds 13 & 14 on October 6-8.
TCX America presented by Skip Barber Racing School Road America Saturday Race Results
4th TCX - #99 Dai Yoshihara, VGRT Racing Honda Civic Type R TCX
8th TCX - #93 Christopher DeFreitas, Ian Lacy Racing Honda Civic Type R TCX
TC America presented by Skip Barber Racing School Road America Saturday Race Results
3rd TC - #7 Celso Neto, Skip Barber Racing School Honda Civic Type R
5th TC - #34 Jeremiah Burton, Skip Barber Racing School Honda Civic Type R
TCA America presented by Skip Barber Racing School Road America Saturday Race Results
1st TCA - #5 Spencer Bucknum, LA Honda World Racing Honda Civic Si FE1
2nd TCA - #77 William Lambros, Skip Barber Racing School Honda Civic Si FE1
TCX America presented by Skip Barber Racing School Road America Sunday Race Results
4th TCX - #99 Daijiro Yoshihara, VGRT Racing Honda Civic Type R TCX
TC America presented by Skip Barber Racing School Road America Sunday Race Results
5th TC - #7 Celso Neto, Skip Barber Racing School Honda Civic Type R
6th TC - #34 Jeremiah Burton, Skip Barber Racing School Honda Civic Type R
TCA America presented by Skip Barber Racing School Road America Sunday Race Results
2nd TCA - #5 Spencer Bucknum, LA Honda World Racing Honda Civic Si FE1
3rd TCA - #77 William Lambros, Skip Barber Racing School Honda Civic Si FE1
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