Eversley-Lamb score first win for Atlanta Speedwerks
Ryan Eversley and Todd Lamb won the TCR class in the 4-hour race at Watkins Glen, fourth round of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge.
A former champion in the TCR class of the Pirelli World Challenge, Eversley drove his Honda Civic Type R to victory by 6.4 seconds over Ryan Norman’s Hyundai Elantra N, scoring Atlanta Speedwerks’ first victory in the series.
Eversley took the lead at the beginning of the last hour and emerged victorious in the close battle that followed against Norman, Michael Lewis’ Hyundai Veloster N and the sister Atlanta Speedwerk’s Honda of Ryan Noaker.
Eventually, the Bryan Herta Autosport’s Hyundai cars of Norman-Parker Chase and Lewis-Taylor Hagler completed the podium; the latter pair recovered from an early off-track excursion into a gravel trap, beating the Civic of Noaker-Bob Henderson by less than three tenths.
The victory meant that Eversley took the lead in the standings, 10 points clear of Chase-Norman, while the former leaders Lewis-Hagler slipped down to third, a further 100 points behind.
At the end of the first hour of racing there was an incident between the two Copeland Motorsports Hyundai Veloster N cars of Tyler Gonzalez and AJ Muss. Gonzalez ran wide and to avoid a wrecked GT car swerved to the right towards his teammate’s car; Muss’ Veloster was squeezed between Gonzalez’s and a GT car and couldn’t avoid making contact that sent Gonzalez spinning and crashing into the barriers.
The fifth round of the season will take place at Lime Rock on July 17th.
Watkins Glen – Race
1. R. Eversley/T. Lamb (Atlanta Speedwerk, Honda Civic Type R), 104 laps
2. P. Chase/R. Norman (Bryan Herta Autosport, Hyundai Elantra N), 6.435
3. M. Lewis/T. Hagler (Bryan Herta Autosport, Hyundai Veloster N), 7.176
4. R. Noaker/B. Henderson (Atlanta Speedwerk, Honda Civic Type R), 7.511
5. R. van de Steur/D. Dupont (Van der Steur Racing, Hyundai Veloster N), 18.408
Championship points
1. R. Eversley 1210 pts; 2. M. Lewis/T. Hagler 1200; 3. P. Chase/R. Norman 1100
Picture: IMSA/Jake Galstad
