Konig Wheels Civic Type R takes pole and the race win at Laguna Seca.

After a second place finish in the Hyundai Genesis Coupe, Reza Arsham was eager to get back

into the Konig Wheels/Gogogear.com Honda Civic Type R for the second race of the season at

Laguna Seca. An offseason upgrade package which saw significant upgrades to the front

suspension as well as a newly refreshed Kaaz limited slip differential, meant that the Type R

was ready for action at the famous circuit. Arsham has historically done well at the 2.2 mile track

and front wheel drive cars are also suited to the layout. With practice cut short, there was not

much time to get used to the car or track before qualifying. Arsham took a couple extra laps in

qualifying to find the pace in the car but ultimately got the tires into the correct operating window

and set a quick lap time. Enough for second overall, only behind the Camaro GT4.R of Ehsan

Farkhondeh. Saturday’s race was the first time the Civic Type R could try out a long run.

Starting from pole position, the front wheel drive Civic struggled on the uphill incline on Laguna

Seca’s front straightaway. Despite that, and thanks to a missed shift from outside pole, The

Civic was able to maintain the inside line into the Andretti Hairpin and emerge in the lead. From

there the Type R was able to put down some quick laps and as the track rubbered in, Arsham

was able to come within 6 tenths of the lap record. This blistering pace allowed Arsham to

stretch the lead to almost 15 seconds over second place. However, it wasn’t without issue, the

multiple laps of flatout abuse had taken their toll on the brakes. They had begun to overheat and

performance was dropping off a cliff. If the first half of the race was about coming close to lap

records and stretching out the lead, the second half was about surviving and managing the gap

to those behind. As the brakes continued to heat up the Hankook tires from the inside, and grip

began to fade away, Arsham was monitoring his gap to second the whole time. In the end the

gap came all the way down to 2 seconds by the time the Type R crossed the line for victory. A

well managed race that showed the Type R had the ability to maintain competitive pace over 30

minutes. The victory, along with the points for fastest lap, mean that Arsham takes over as the

points leader in the TC class, even if only by 5 points. His eyes will most certainly be on the

driver’s title as we head into the busy summer midseason period.