Tom O’Gorman Wins Twice in Civic Si, Eversley Two Podiums in Utah

Tom O’Gorman Wins Twice in Civic Si, Eversley Two Podiums in Utah
Ryan Eversley holds series lead with two races left in season
• Honda Civic Si driver Tom O’Gorman extends his points lead with two wins from pole
• Eversley’s podiums give him seven-point margin in championship chase

TOOELE, Utah (August 12, 2018) – RealTime Racing driver Ryan Eversley kept a firm grip on the World Challenge Touring Car Series points lead that he has cultivated all season long with a pair of podium finishes Sunday, bringing his Honda Civic Type R home in third place in both Saturday and Sunday races at Utah Motorsports Campus.

Eversley chased Bryan Herta Autosport drivers Michael Lewis and Mark Wilkins throughout two trying events on the 3.048-mile road circuit outside of Salt Lake City, but was unable to prevent the Hyundai drivers from earning 1-2 sweeps in both races.

Meanwhile, Honda driver Tom O’Gorman dominated the weekend in his RealTime Racing Honda Civic Si, solidifying his points standing with a pair of easy victories in the TCA class.

TCR
Eversley qualified second in Saturday’s opener, while new teammate Mason Filippi started fourth in their RealTime Racing Hondas, but Wilkins slipped past Eversley at the start, slotting behind Lewis to give the two BHA teammates a clear path to a 1-2 finish. Eversley secured the final podium spot after a tight battle with Matt Fassnacht’s Audi, while Filippi ended up 10th.

Eversley started third in Sunday’s second race of the weekend and stayed there despite setting the fastest lap of the race. Filippi started fourth and posted a representative sixth-place run in his Civic Type R.

Eversley holds a seven-point lead over Lewis as the series prepares for the final two races of the 2018 season, September 1-2 at Watkins Glen.

TCA
In the TCA class, 2017 TCB class champion Tom O’Gorman had his best weekend of the year, winning from pole in both races. The young Ohioan was never headed over two races around the 14-turn layout, winning Saturday’s opener by nearly 14 seconds and blitzing the field by more than 23 seconds on Sunday.

Unlike the TCR Honda Civic Type R, where many racing components are incorporated with the production engine and chassis, World Challenge TC technical regulations require the car to be very close to the production version, with only minor safety and suspension changes allowed.

Quotes
Ryan Eversley (driver, #43 RealTime Racing Honda Civic Type R) 3rd in both races “Frustrating race Saturday but we’ll keep our heads down and do the best with what we have. Thanks to RealTime Racing and Honda for another podium result. Sunday we were at a disadvantage for the standing start, but we still set fastest lap and we are happy with that.”

Tom O’Gorman (driver, #94 Honda Civic Si) Two wins this weekend in TCA class: “The car was faster for sure with the lower temps … the car was a little more grippy, for sure. But there were definitely some issues later on. The track was a little gravelly. I actually gave my crew a little bit of a scare because I radioed in and told them I had a flat and they were ready to bring me in. Fortunately, we figured it out in the end. [Sunday] was really different from racing [Saturday]. There is something to be said about running at altitude, and we’re the only turbo car in the field. So, the World Challenge tech guys know what to do to make [our] car competitive [with] the naturally aspirated cars.”