- VGRT’s Victor Gonzalez and Karl Wittmer score their second win of 2022
- LA Honda World qualifies on pole, finishes fourth
BRASELTON, GA (Sept. 30, 2022) – Honda took victory at Road Atlanta today, with the #99 VGRT Honda Civic Type R TCR of Victor Gonzalez and Karl Wittmer combining to win the season-ending IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Fox Factory 120.
Starting seventh, Gonzalez worked his way as high as fourth before handing the car over to Karl Wittmer to close out the race. Wittmer took the lead on lap following the team’s final pit stop and never let it go to the end of the 76-lap race.
Honda began the race on pole with the #73 Civic Type R TCR from LA Honda World qualifying first in the hands of Atlanta native Mat Pombo. After reviewing the start, Pombo was penalized for changing lanes prior to the green flag; and the resulting drive-through penalty dropped the #73 Honda down to last place.
Pombo and his teammate in the all-Atlanta driver lineup, Ryan Eversley, would battle back to the lead before being forced off track in the closing stages of the race. The pair would cross the line just off the podium in fourth.
Between the #99 and the #73, Honda Civic Type R TCRs combined to lead 38 laps in the two-hour race.
Quotes
Victor Gonzalez (#99 VGRT Honda Civic Type R TCR) finished first, second Michelin Pilot Challenge victory of 2022: “What a way to finish the year! A win! I'm so proud of everybody on this team—Ruben, my wife, all the crew—we have worked so hard. We have developed a really strong team. Our Honda was amazing today, all the guys from HPD and Honda, thank you. This means so much for us. We are going to keep fighting hard and keep growing and we're definitely with the right brand to do it."
Karl Wittmer (#99 VGRT Honda Civic Type R TCR) finished first: “It was unbelievable. The guys at VGRT did a stellar job all weekend and the support we got from HPD is really unprecedented. When you put the puzzle pieces together, good things happen. We stuck to our strategy and we won the race! That's two wins this year for this team, I'm so proud of the guys, I'm proud of Honda and I'm just proud to be here."
Next
Today’s Fox Factory 120 was the final round of the 2022 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season. The 2023 season begins in January at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL.
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