Acura, Meyer Shank Racing Repeat Victory at Petit Le Mans
Michelin Raceway Road AtlantaMeyer Shank Racing prevailed in a chaotic final hour to take a second consecutive victory for Acura and the team; with Acura finishing a close third in the Manufacturers’ Championship battle with three victories over the course of the nine-race season.
· Drivers Colin Braun, Tom Blomqvist and Helio Castroneves make late-race charge to victory in #60 MSR Acura ARX-06
· Second consecutive victory for MSR and Acura in season-ending IMSA endurance event at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta
· Third win for the hybrid-powered ARX-06 prototype in debut 2023 season
The 26th running of the Motul Petit Le Mans saw Acura teams and drivers take the battle for the IMSA Manufacturers’, Drivers’ and Teams’ championships down to the final minutes of the 10-hour event today at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Meyer Shank Racing prevailed in a chaotic final hour to take a second consecutive victory for Acura and the team; with Acura finishing a close third in the Manufacturers’ Championship battle with three victories over the course of the nine-race season.
The #60 Meyer Shank Racing and starting driver Tom Blomqvist lost time early in the contest when it was caught up in a multi-car nose-to-tail incident in traffic. Suspension repairs in pit lane cost the Acura two laps, but hard work from the team and co-drivers Colin Braun and Helio Castroneves saw the #60 back on the lead lap by half distance.
With just over an hour remaining, the #60 Acura was running in seventh place; but a strategic pit call by the MSR team and a series of ultra-quick laps from Braun moved the ARX-06 up to second. Following a caution in the final hour, Braun swept around leader Renger van der Zande on a restart to take the lead maintain that advantage to the checkers.
For the first nine hours of the 10-hour endurance contest, the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport ARX-06 of Filipe Albuquerque, Ricky Taylor and Louis Deletraz was in contention for the victory, and the drivers’ and teams’ championships that would have accompanied a win. But contact with the #31 of Pipo Derani sent the Acura – with Albuquerque at the wheel – hard into the Turn 1 barrier. Albuquerque was transported to an area hospital for further examination.
Today’s Motul Petit Le Mans was the final round of the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. The 2024 season begins in January with the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL.
Man, this took me back to the days of me and Renger [van der Zande] racing each other in LMPC. I’m super proud of the Meyer Shank guys, Acura and HPD. They never gave up all year. My newborn son Roxen’s here for his first race, so he’s a good luck charm. What a day. It was looking dicey for a little bit, but man it was a blast. That was all I had at the end for sure.
Man, this took me back to the days of me and Renger [van der Zande] racing each other in LMPC. I’m super proud of the Meyer Shank guys, Acura and HPD. They never gave up all year. My newborn son Roxen’s here for his first race, so he’s a good luck charm. What a day. It was looking dicey for a little bit, but man it was a blast. That was all I had at the end for sure.
We delivered once again, for HPD and for Acura. The boys and girls at MSR, they never give up. With a few hours to go, it looked like our race was done, but no, we made the right strategy calls and Colin absolutely killed it on that restart. That guy is phenomenal on cold tires. I couldn’t be more proud of this entire team.
We delivered once again, for HPD and for Acura. The boys and girls at MSR, they never give up. With a few hours to go, it looked like our race was done, but no, we made the right strategy calls and Colin absolutely killed it on that restart. That guy is phenomenal on cold tires. I couldn’t be more proud of this entire team.
-medium.jpg)
-medium.jpg)
