TCR Series Article: O’Gorman and Blackstock encore at Sebring
Tom O’Gorman and Shelby Blackstock claimed a second consecutive victory in the TCR class of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge. After having won the season’s opening event at Daytona, the LA Honda World Racing duo was victorious again at Sebring, completing 49 laps of the Florida circuit at the wheel of their Honda Civic Type R during the two-hour race.
O’Gorman-Blackstock beat by 7 seconds the JDC-Miller Motorsports Audi RS 3 LMS driven by last year’s champion Britt Casey jr. – who had set pole position – and Mikey Taylor; the podium was completed by the HART Honda Civic of Ryan Eversley and Chad Gilsinger. Mason Filippi and Harry Gottsacker were classified fourth in the best of the Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Veloster N cars.
The race began with an incident that involved the Civic of Mike La Marra (runner up at Daytona) and the Alfa Romeo Giulietta of Roy Block; La Marra spun after a contact with another car and was collected by Block. Both cars retired with a broken rear suspension.
Eventually only the top six cars finished on the same lap as the winners.
The third round of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge will take place at Mid Ohio on May 4.
Race
1. LA Honda World Racing, Honda Civic Type R (O’ Gorman / Blackstock), 49 laps
2. JDC-Miller Motorsports, Audi RS 3 LMS (Taylor / Casey), 7.223
3. HART, Honda Civic Type R (Eversley / Gilsinger), 19.787
4. Bryan Herta Autosport, Hyundai Veloster N (Filippi / Gottsacker), 31.544
5. LA Honda World Racing, Honda Civic Type R (Mullan / Faulkner), 32.311
6. Bryan Herta Autosport, Hyundai Veloster N (Lewis / Wilkins), 52.601
Championship points
1. O’Gorman-Blackstock 70 pts; 2. Filippi-Gottsacker 54; 3. Lamb-Henderson 51
Part of the Honda Performance Development program, L.A. Honda World Racing is the official race team of L.A. Honda World, a factory-authorized Honda dealership in the Los Angeles suburb of Downey, CA.
For more information about the drivers and team, visit L.A. Honda World Racing on the Web at www.lahondaworldracing.com and www.lahondaworld.com.
About L.A. Honda World Racing
L.A. Honda World Racing is an in-house professional racing team based in Southern California and participates in the SRO / TC America and IMSA racing series exclusively racing touring cars built by Honda Performance Development. They are also a factory authorized Honda dealer for American Honda Motor Co. www.lahondaworldracing.com
About Honda Performance Development
Honda Performance Development, Inc. (HPD), has a rich heritage creating, manufacturing, and supporting Honda Racing and Acura Motorsports customers since 1993. From pinnacle racing in INDYCAR and IMSA Sports Cars to commercial racing programs, HPD powers the dreams of professional and amateur racers from age 4 to 40+. HPD is a wholly owned subsidiary of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. and leads all of Honda and Acura's high-performance racing programs in North America. HPD specializes in the design and development of powertrain, chassis, electronics, and performance parts, as well as technical and race support. HPD offers parts and race support to Honda and Acura amateur and professional motorsports racers and is continually expanding its palette of racing programs that make Honda racing products available to all racing styles, from karting and Quarter Midgets to the highest levels of pro racing. For more information, visit www.hpd.honda.com
