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.