Yoshihara Scores Big Points at TC America Sebring 2023

The iconic Sebring International Raceway is a brutal circuit, which would challenge ENEOS ambassador Dai Yoshihara’s abilities when he visited after coming off the TC America summer break. He pushed hard in the Pit+Paddock Civic Type R TCX at Road America to learn more about the car’s limits and how to extract everything from it at Rounds 11 and 12.

Once again, like most tracks on this season’s calendar, this was Dai’s first time at Sebring. Despite this, he set a remarkable pace, earning third place in the first practice session, just 0.057sec behind second. The track’s reputation for being harsh on cars continued, claiming a rear shock mount, but the VGRT team fixed the issue so Dai could claim top honors during the second practice session.

Qualifying saw the timing charts change rapidly throughout the session, and less seat time relegated Dai to P7 for Saturday’s race — however, the team knew the car had the pace to make amends.

Dai drove flawlessly on the Saturday and Sunday races as the Civic Type R TCX performed better on the 17-turn layout in comparison to the previous two rounds. In the first race, Dai attacked at all the right moments, ascending from P7 to P4, crossing the finish line only 0.162sec from a spot on the podium.

Sunday’s battle saw Dai go from fifth to fourth by the end, which added more points to the board and another impressive mark to his inaugural TC America campaign. But his masterclass at Sebring meant more than points, his efforts earned him the “hard charger” award for his trophy collection.

“I drove my best here out of any race so far!” Dai said. “I’ve gelled with the car more, and continue to learn how to improve my race craft after every event.”

SEBRING RACE 1 RESULTS – TCX

SEBRING RACE 2 RESULTS – TCX

2023 OVERALL STANDINGS – TCX

NEXT RACE

Dai and the Pit+Paddock Civic Type R face the final TC America round at Indianapolis Motor Speedway from October 5-8, 2023.