Honda Scores Second Straight Pole and Victory at Watkins Glen
• Rocco Pasquarella and Tim Lewis win in dramatic last to first run
• HART earns strong top four finish, second of the season
Honda continued its winning momentum in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge competition, earning its second consecutive TCR pole position and victory during the LP Building Solutions 120 at Watkins Glen International. The #5 KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering Honda Civic Type R TCR of Rocco Pasquarella and Tim Lewis pulled off a remarkable feat, crossing the finish line first after starting from the back of the field.
In Qualifying, Honda entries set three of the top four fastest laps, with LP Montour earning pole position in the #93 MMG Honda Civic Type R TCR.
Meanwhile, the 5 KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering entry, who were previously on pole position in the prior round at Mid-Ohio, faced an uphill battle after starting from the rear of the field following an infraction in post-qualifying technical inspection.
Tim Lewis and Rocco Pasquarella steadily worked their way forward throughout the race, with the latter climbing into the top three by the midpoint of the event before taking control of the lead in the closing stages to score the team’s first IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge victory with Honda.
The #89 HART Honda also delivered a strong performance, claiming their second top four finish of the year following a second-place result in Daytona. Tyler Chambers led the majority of the opening stint before an early pit strategy required Chambers’ co-driver Chad Gilsinger to conserve fuel as the end of the two-hour contest neared. The duo would cross the line P4.
The other promising Honda entries faced misfortunes. The pole-winning MMG Honda of Montour and Karl Wittmer led the opening stages of the race and appeared poised to contend for victory before a fuel pressure issue forced an early exit, while the #72 Pegram Racing Honda of Riley and Larry Pegram retired after sustaining suspension damage.
With its second consecutive race win, Honda further closed the gap in the TCR Manufacturers’ Championship, moving to within 20 points of the championship lead. The victory also propelled the KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering entry into fourth place in the Drivers’ and Team standings.
LP Building Solutions 120 at The GlenHonda Race Results
• Finished 1st – #5 KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering Honda Civic Type R TCR Rocco Pasquarella, Tim Lewis
• Finished 4th – #89 HART Honda Civic Type R TCR Chad Gilsinger, Tyler Chambers
• Finished 13th – #72 Pegram Racing Honda Civic Type R TCR Riley Pegram, Larry Pegram – not running
• Finished 14th – #93 MMG Honda Civic Type R TCR Karl Wittmer, LP Montour – not running
Quotes
Rocco Pasquarella (#5 KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering Honda Civic Type R TCR) finished first: ‘At the beginning of the weekend it was pretty disappointing to have the second-place qualifying result taken away from us due to a technical infraction. But rules are rules and we wanted to be strong going forward into the race. I figured our first win was going to be fun, but going from last to first definitely made it pretty memorable.’
Tim Lewis (#5 KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering Honda Civic Type R TCR) finished first: ‘This is just great for the team, I’m proud of everybody. We had some major adversity this weekend. I think it was the first time in seventy-five races that we flunked tech and started from the back. Our guys were resilient, and Rocco never gave up. We had a fast Honda and we finally capitalized on it.’
Next
Honda heads north of the border and returns to a track where they claimed the TCR victory in 2025, for the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park 120 on July 11th, 2026.
Photo credit: Honda
Posted on Autotech-plus.com
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