Honda takes top five at VIRginia International Raceway

• Mat Pombo and Mike LaMarra score fourth place finish at VIR
• Two top-ten finishes for Honda Civic Type R TCRs in the Virginia Is For Racing Lovers Grand Prix

The LA Honda World Racing team scored their best finish thus far in the 2020 IMSA MICHELIN Pilot Challenge with #73 Honda Civic Type R TCR drivers Mat Pombo and Mike LaMarra scoring fourth at the Virginia Is For Racing Lovers Grand Prix.

Starting eighth in the hands of LaMarra, he and Pombo persevered through yellow flags and immense GS-class traffic. The pair spent much of the race swapping positions with their LA Honda World Honda Civic Type R TCR teammates Shelby Blackstock and Chris Miller before eventually crossed the line in the fourth position.

Delivering the best qualifying performance of the LA Honda World squad for the weekend, Miller rolled off the grid sixth in the #37 and spent much of the race battling his #73 teammate LaMarra before handing over to Blackstock with one hour and eight minutes left.

A great pit stop put the #37 in the hands of Blackstock back on track in third position. The Nashville native slipped back to fourth position following a restart before suffering contact with the #29 Hyundai, spinning him off the track.

The spin dropped him to eighth place, but Blackstock managed to move his way back to sixth in the final 10 minutes of the race.

Driver of the #77 Honda Civic Type R TCR, Ryan Eversley achieved a massive milestone this weekend, competing in his 100th IMSA Challenge Series race. Unfortunately, Eversley did not get to take his turn behind the wheel during the race. Eversley's co-driver Taylor Hagler was caught up in an unfortunate first-lap incident that ended the pair's day early.

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

Honda Racing social media content and videos from VIRginia International Raceway are available on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD) and on Twitter at (https://twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD).  Produced by CoForce Digital Media, YouTube video packages can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV.  

Next

The MICHELIN Pilot Challenge now travels to Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta September 4-6 for Michelin Endurance Challenge weekend. The race can be streamed live on TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold.

MICHELIN Pilot Challenge Virginia Is For Racing Lovers Grand Prix
Circuit: VIRginia International Raceway, Alton, VA
Weather:  Hot and humid, 91 degrees F

Top Five TCR, Honda Race Results:

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