Honda Battles Back to Podium Finish in Virginia is for Racing Lovers Grand Prix

• KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering Honda Civic Type R TCR completes strong last-to-third recovery drive
• Honda earns seventh podium of the season in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge competition
• MMG finishes just shy of the podium after early race setback

Honda teams fought through a challenging qualifying session and a caution-filled race at VIRginia International Raceway to score a podium finish in the Virginia is for Racing Lovers Grand Prix, with the #5 KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering Honda Civic Type R TCR charging from the back of the grid to finish third in the eighth round of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge championship season.

The weekend initially appeared to be another strong qualifying performance for Honda, with the #93 MMG Honda of LP Montour and #5 KMW Motorsports Honda of Rocco Pasquarella provisionally qualifying second and third, respectively. However, an incident in qualifying involving the TMR entry resulted in the team losing their two fastest qualifying laps, therefore relegating them to the back of the grid.

The MMG Honda also faced an early setback in the race. Montour was assessed a drive-through penalty for incident responsibility involving a slower GS-class car, putting the group into recovery mode for the remainder of the two-hour event.

Starting from the rear, KMW mounted an impressive drive to battle back to the front, steadily working through the field and reached fourth position before going on to complete a crucial pass for third with 15 minutes remaining before a late-race caution neutralized the field.

MMG also went on to gain a position when the green flag returned, passing the same competitor to move forward in the closing laps. Another caution, however, interrupted the final sprint to the checkered flag and brought the race to its conclusion.

KMW secured third place, completing a remarkable recovery from the back of the grid to earn Honda a podium finish. MMG crossed the line fourth after overcoming the early drive-through penalty. Meanwhile, the #72 Pegram Racing Honda was caught up in the final restart scramble and ultimately finished seventh, an unrepresentative result after running competitively in the closing stages.

Virginia is for Racing Lovers Grand PrixHonda Race Results

• Finished 3rd - #5 KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering Honda Civic Type R TCR Rocco Pasquarella, Tim Lewis
• Finished 4th - #93 MMG Honda Civic Type R TCR Karl Wittmer, LP Montour
• Finished 7th - #72 Pegram Racing Honda Civic Type R TCR Riley Pegram, Larry Pegram

Quotes
Rocco Pasquarella (#5 KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering Honda) finished 3rd: "It was a pretty fun race. It seems like coming from the back is my specialty now. The car in the beginning of my stint felt really good. The track was getting hotter and I was just maintaining my front tires. Fuel saving was also the name of the game, which is exactly what I did before handing it over to Tim. He was able to make up a lot of time and passed right before the first caution came out, which I think really helped us. We were in the fight with first and second at the end, and then that final caution ended it. Overall, it was a great race."

Tim Lewis (#5 KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering Honda) finished 3rd: "Just another typical Rocco drive! You put him in the car, he's calm, and he just ticks off cars one by one by one. He always puts us in a position at the end of the race to do well. That made my job a lot easier."

Next
Honda will return to action for the ninth round of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season, the two-hour Indianapolis Motor Speedway 120, scheduled for September 19, 2026.

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