

Sonoma,CA - FK8 Honda Civic Type R performs well with new upgrades

Following the race victory at Laguna Seca Raceway, the Gogogear.com team made a few
upgrades to the Type R before the third championship event at Sonoma Raceway. The most
notable improvement was to the front brake cooling package. The high brake energy density of
the Laguna Seca circuit revealed to the team part of a lingering performance drawback that has
been troubling the team all season. Even though the circuit characteristics of Sonoma were less
demanding on the braking system, a reduction in brake and, by extension, tire temperature
could see the team closer to unlocking the long run pace of the chassis that it has been missing
over the past season.
Gordon Pun made his season debut in the car and was immediately positive about the
improvements that had been made. The car was easy to drive, and once back into the rhythm,
he had no issues with the braking system. Qualifying was a difficult session with only 2 laps
available for the drivers to push for laptime. Nonetheless, Pun’s experience was clear for all to
see with his rocket start, seeing him propelled up the grid by two positions and into the podium
places. It didn’t take long for rookie Enrique Ferreira’s BMW 330ci to come charging past at the
tight turn 11 hairpin. Tim Hunter’s Volvo C30 was quite the match for Pun as the two squared up
to fight for fourth position. The two front wheel drive, turbocharged hot hatches were very evenly
matched and Hunter was able to retake the position and hold onto fourth. Pun didn’t let the
distinctive green Volvo out of his sight and was setting up a move for a few laps. Once the race
settled down, Pun seized his opportunity to dive down the inside at turn 7. Hunter wouldn’t give
up the place without a fight and tried to come storming back at the final hairpin, but Pun was
wise to the move and defended the inside. Just as the action was heating up, it was Hunter who
was forced to back off as overheating, and eventually, a large puff of smoke came from the back
of the Volvo and ended his race. From there, Pun had the field covered behind, and the battle
had allowed Ferreira to drive off into the distance. Pun settled for a strong fourth place finish to
consolidate a good points haul and keep the championship battle close at the top.
The mechanical for Hunter sees him drift further from the top of the points in TC as the top two
appear to be making it a two horse race for the title. Arsham’s Hyundai Genesis was again
battling it out at the front. After winning the first race, coming second by 2.063 seconds in round
two, and finishing second by 0.469 seconds in round three. Arsham retakes the lead of the
championship and has been within 2.6 seconds of winning all three races. With three rounds to
go, and one of which being a 2.5 hour long endurance race, the championship is still wide open
between the two cars.
