GoGoGear.com Civic finishes second in new class

Willows, CA - The 2024 season opener saw the Gogogear.com Honda Civic Type R change
classes from the ST class to TC. After a successful championship winning season in ST, the
team decided to reclass the car and enter the highly competitive TC classification for the 2024
season. The rain affected practice and qualifying sessions meant that the car had very little
testing time around the 3 mile circuit at Thunderhilll Raceway Park in the FK8 Civic Type R. A
third place grid position was high enough, however, for the team to be involved at the front of
the grid from the drop of the flag. After struggling in the 2023 season with race starts, the front
wheel drive Civic was able to get the power to the ground and make a clean getaway at the line.
Fourth placed starter Sean Milburn’s rear drive BMW was able to jump the field and steal the
lead into the first corner, but the Type R was immediately on the heels of the front row pair of
Genesis Coupes piloted by Andy Chittum and 2022 TC Champion Gary Trudeau. Splitting the
pair of Genesis Coupes at turn 1, opened up the outside line around Thunderhill’s famously long
constant radius turn 2 and the Civic Type R was able to make the move stick and take the
inside into turn 3 and take second position in class. With the race being the first dry session
running of the weekend, it took a few laps to get up to speed and properly heat up the tires. The
new Konig Countergram wheels were sporting a staggered tire package that was part of new
additions for the 2024 season.The track was devoid of rubber after all of the rain and was slick
in a few places still making each lap faster than the last. By lap 5, the car was picking up serious
time and knocking on the door of the race’s fastest lap, however, the safety car was deployed
and bunched up the field. After a few laps under caution, the race resumed for a final two lap
dash to the line. Again, the Civic took a few corners before it was able to get enough heat into
the tires to get back to the pace that it had before the caution. In the end, the Gogogear.com
Honda was unable to seriously contend for the win, but was able to hold off the field and secure
a strong second place finish in the season opener. The team has some work to do to find the
final few tenths required to keep up with the front of the grid, but this race was a strong showing
for the platform and bodes well for their hopes of contending for the hardware at the end of the
season.