The LA Honda World Racing team notched another top-ten finish at the famed Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin with the #73 Honda Civic Type R TCR drivers Mat Pombo and Mike LaMarra scoring eighth in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Road America 120.
Starting fifth, the duo persevered through a tricky race that saw many series veterans finding trouble. LaMarra took control of the #73 Civic for the first 56 minutes of the race before handing it over to Pombo for the final one hour and four minutes.
During his stint, fuel strategy forced Pombo to pit an additional time compared to his competitors’ single stops, pushing them down the order. However, he did manage the fastest TCR lap of the race, a 2:20.971, set on lap 47 of 49, just before the yellow caution flag came out to end the race, following a late-race crash involving a GS class car.
The #37 LA Honda World Racing machine shone in qualifying, with Chris Miller putting his and Shelby Blackstock’s Honda Civic Type R TCR third on the grid. Miller got a fantastic start and even got into the lead on the first lap of the race. Unfortunately, a mechanical issue soon sent Miller off the course in Turn Five, ending the #37’s day.
Taylor Hagler made her return to the series after contracting, and recovering from, a COVID-19 that forced her out of the previous round at Sebring International Raceway. She and co-driver Ryan Eversley started 12th in the #77 Civic. A wiring loom issue forced Hagler into the pits early and, once that was fixed, a subsequent broken hood pin ended their day.
Next
The MICHELIN Pilot Challenge travels to VIRginia International Raceway for the August 23rd Virginia Is For Racing Lovers Grand Prix. The race can be streamed live on TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold.
Quotes
Mat Pombo (#73 LA Honda World Honda Civic Type R TCR), finished eighth, TCR fastest lap: “Road America this weekend was so fun to be at. We had a fast car all weekend in practice — top 2 in every session and then a solid top 5 qualifying from Mike. Our #73 LA Honda World Civic Type R TCR car was looking great for the race. Unfortunately, Lady Luck wasn’t on our side and the competition found a lot of speed going into the race. Our fuel strategy caught us off guard there at the end, as we needed two stops to our competition’s single stop. However, that let me get a new set of tires right at the end and lay down a fast lap to show what these Honda’s are capable of. Looking forward to VIR for redemption in a couple weeks”