HPD Honda Civic Si and Type R racers continued their quests for SRO Motorsports Touring Car championships as the series contested its penultimate weekend of the 2021 season Saturday and Sunday at Sebring International Raceway.
The iconic Sebring circuit caused more than its share of trials and tribulations in the TC class, starting with an issue for points leader Eric Powell in Friday qualifying. While Civic Type-R driver Kevin Boehm rolled to the pole on Friday, Powell had a crash in Turn 10 that sidelined his own Type R for the weekend.
After sitting out Saturday’s event and losing 25 points of his series lead to rival Austen Smith, Powell borrowed Mike Ogren’s Type R for Sunday’s race and carried it to third place. The effort allowed Powell to maintain the top spot in the championship, as he will unofficially take a 29.5-point advantage into the season-closing weekend October 16-17 in Indianapolis.
Starting from the pole, Boehm led early in Saturday’s race, then settled for a second-place finish that allowed him to close on Powell’s title advantage. But Saturday would be as close as he would get to the TC championship lead on this weekend, as an off-course excursion while defending his lead on Sunday led to a broken damper and a scoreless early retirement.
In TCA, which features the Honda Civic Si, Carter Fartuch started the weekend holding second in the season championship but had to be content with a pair of fifth-place finishes in his Honda Civic Si to lead Honda fortunes in the class.
Mario Biundo had one of his best weekends of the season after finishing sixth and seventh in the weekend’s races while Sally McNulty took home a pair of eighth-place finishes. Chris Harrison finished ninth in both starts while Jose Blanco finished 10th on Sunday. In TC, Mike LaMarra took his LA Honda World Type R to a sixth-place finish on Saturday and placed seventh in Sunday’s nightcap.
Next:
The Honda Civic Type R and Civic Si Touring Car teams will close the season October 16-17, with another double-header race weekend on the road course at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.