Heartbreak for Honda Civic Type R TCRs at Daytona


No. 89 HART Honda Civic Type R TCR leads on IMSA return, before apparent driveline failure leads to retirement
Mike LaMarra, Ryan Eversley take LA Honda World Civic to the front, before being sidelined by fuel issue
VGRT has early puncture, power steering problem in the four-hour race

DAYTONA BEACH, FL (January 28, 2022) Both the LA Honda World and HART efforts led laps in their Honda Civic Type R TCR machines today at Daytona International Speedway, before unfortunate issues knocked them out of the season-opening, four-hour IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge endurance race.

Cameron Lawrence started the race in the #89 Honda Civic Type R TCR for HART, and worked his way through the field, to lead 10 laps before a failure in the right front of the car took them behind the wall. Teammate Chad Gilsinger would get back on track briefly, but the team would eventually park the car before third HART driver Steve Eich had a chance behind the wheel.

The #73 Honda Civic Type R TCR from LA Honda World suffered similar heartbreak, with Mike LaMarra advancing through the field from the team’s 15th place starting position to put co-driver Ryan Eversley in podium contention following their mid-race driver change. Eversley would go on to suffer a fuel issue while leading, and eventually retire from the race.

The #99 newly-renamed VGRT team of Victor Gonzalez and Ruben Iglesias, despite being fast through last week’s Roar test and in the practice sessions leading up to this race, suffered from a tire problem in the opening stint of the race, and would eventually retire with a power steering problem.

Endurance Challenge at Daytona Race Results
11th TCR – #73 Ryan Eversley and Mike LaMarra, LA Honda World Honda Civic Type R TCR – Not running
13th TCR –  #99 Victor Gonzalez and Ruben Iglesias, VGRT Racing Honda Civic Type R TCR – Not running
14th tTCR –  #89 Chad Gilsinger, Cameron Lawrence and Steve Eich, HART Racing Honda Civic Type R TCR – Not running

Quotes
Ryan Eversley (#73 LA Honda World Honda Civic Type R TCR): “It was so frustrating! The car was really good on the infield and on the brakes, the great Honda handling made this car really fun to drive. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a ton of speed on the straights—even in the draft. So we were just holding on and hoping other people had problems, but we were the ones that ended up with problems. Huge thanks to LA Honda World, to HPD, to Mike [LaMarra]. This crew, they’re 99% new to IMSA this weekend, and we didn’t have a single pit stop issue. No [pit lane] penalties in the race or in practices, and for a bunch of guys that are new from the dealership side, that was really impressive.”

Mike LaMarra (#73 LA Honda World Honda Civic Type R TCR): “It was fantastic to be back in the Honda Civic Type R TCR. I really love driving this car! We hit it well on the [chassos] setup. There were a lot of wet practice [sessions] this weekend, and we weren’t great in the wet. But, we threw the kitchen sink at it and the race was mostly dry, so it really worked out well for us! It felt really strong in that first stint. We definitely had a shot at this thing, so it’s disappointing to end the day behind the wall.”

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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