Rain Blunts Honda Civic Type R TCR Effort at Mid-Ohio
• Mid-race showers, tire choices impact Honda team results
• Tom O’Gorman, Shelby Blackstock maintain championship lead with fifth-place finish
• Honda continues to lead TCR Manufacturers’ Championship
LEXINGTON, Ohio (May 4, 2019) – Rain showers, which arrived midway through Saturday’s MICHELIN Pilot Challenge race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, contributed to a series of collisions and off-course excursions that dramatically changed the outcome for several Honda Civic Type R TCR class teams.
But at the end of the Mid-Ohio 120, part of the Acura Sports Car Challenge weekend at Mid-Ohio, Honda maintained its hold on the TCR Manufacturers’ Championship lead, and LA Honda World Racing drivers Shelby Blackstock and Tom O’Gorman remained on top of the Drivers’ Championship points standings.
The two-hour race started under cloudy skies, as rain as moved in- and out- of the Mid-Ohio area throughout the weekend. The showers arrived just past the one-hour mark, as many teams were making their single scheduled pit stop. As a result, some teams elected to switch to grooved “rain tires” while others remained on dry weather “slicks”.
Leading the TCR class at the time, the Atlanta Speedwerks Honda Civic Type R of Brian Henderson and Todd Lamb pitted for a tire change with 42 minutes remaining, dropping them to an unrepresentative eighth-place finish.
The Honda of America Racing Team Civic, qualified on the pole by Chad Gilsinger, fell out of third place after a brief slide off track by co-driver Ryan Eversley. Eversley also pitted for a tire change, but was able to recover to finish sixth. Another LA Honda World Civic, started by Mike LaMarra, ended its race on Lap 54 when co-driver Mat Pombo slid off track and into the tire wall.
O’Gorman and Blackstock, winners of the first two races this season, ran as high as second with 40 minutes remaining, but fell back as track conditions continued to deteriorate, holding on to finish fifth. After three of 10 rounds, Blackstock and O’Gorman hold a 14-point championship lead over today’s race winners, Mark Wilkins and Michael Lewis. Honda also continues to top the Manufacturers’ Championship standings, with 100 points to 96 points for Audi.
The Honda Civic Type R TCR made its North American racing debut in 2018, with Eversley claiming the Pirelli World Challenge TCR Drivers’ Championship for RealTime Racing. Developed by Honda partner JAS Motorsport, the Civic Type R TCR is offered as a race-ready package through HPD.
Next
The next IMSA MICHELIN Pilot Challenge race comes at Watkins Glen International on Saturday, June 29. The Tioga Downs Casino Resort 240 is the second of two, four-hour races on the 2019 schedule.