Honda has been criticized plenty for having lost its passion, building cars that lack the “fun to drive” experience of their predecessors. After the 2012 Civic Si was generally panned it seemed as though Honda got the message, announcing it would revamp the car ahead of schedule.
Another positive sign came when Honda unveiled a new Civic Si race car at last year’s SEMA Show, more recently committing to the SCCA World Challenge series as part of an increased motorsports presence.
This past weekend Honda flexed its motorsports muscle at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah, with involvement from not just dedicated racers, but even from the folks behind the desks. In the inaugural running of the new B-Spec series for sub-compact cars, topping the podium in the third of three races was none other than Sage Marie. Unlikely to be a household name even amongst the most dedicated motorsports enthusiasts, Marie just so happens to be the recently appointed head of Honda public relations in America.
“It’s remarkable that the cars from so many manufacturers were so close right out of the box, and it’s fantastic that the folks at World Challenge
put this class together,” said Marie to AutoGuide.com. “HPD put a great package together for the Fit, and clearly the Honda was the best car today!”
Extolling the virtues of the series, Marie commented that, “It’s a great way to get into pro racing in a competitive, low cost and low maintenance format, and World Challenge puts on a great show.”
Marie was far from the only Honda driver on the podium this weekend with Todd Lamb in the No. 71 HPD Honda Civic Si placing first, third and then second in the three races, while his Compass360 Racing teammate Ryan Winchester in the No. 72 HPD Honda Civic Si placed second, second and third in the three races.
As a result of the strong weekend finish, Honda now sits first int he manufacturer points race in the Touring Car series with 39, followed closely by Mazda with 34. Driver’s Lamb and Winchester sit second and third respectively in the Drivers’ Points.
