BRASELTON, Ga., Oct. 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Acura, its teams
and drivers completed its championship-winning IMSA season in
Saturday's season-ending Petit Le Mans, putting the finishing
touches on the Driver, Manufacturer and Team titles in the featured
Daytona Prototype International division at Michelin Raceway Road
Atlanta.
Meanwhile, in the GTD division, Meyer Shank Racing claimed the
Drivers' and Teams' Championships with the Acura NSX GT-3 Evo.
For a video link highlighting Acura's 2019 championship-winning
season in IMSA sports car competition, go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4rGLh28BJM&feature=youtu.be or
download the video at:
https://app.box.com/s/k3k0h8tooy2zmzcpdup6k7xynsssnkt7
Acura Team Penske ARX-05
Finishing a season
highlighted by race wins at Mid-Ohio, Detroit and Watkins
Glen, and podium finishes in nine of the 10 races in 2019,
Acura officially secured the Manufacturers' Championship at the
start of today's season finale. But the fight for the drivers' and
teams' titles went down to the final laps of the 10-hour endurance
contest.
With the #31 Cadillac of Felipe
Nasr, Pipo Derani and
Eric Curran claiming the win, the #6
Acura ARX-05 of Dane Cameron,
Juan Pablo Montoya and Simon
Pagenaud needed to finish eighth or higher for full-season drivers
Cameron and Montoya to take the championships for themselves and
Acura Team Penske.
With Montoya running sixth following the final round of pit
stops, a caution flag with just under 30 minutes remaining bunched
the field together for a sprint to the finish. Closing drivers
Montoya and Ricky Taylor in the #7
Acura gained positions in the final laps, with Taylor claiming
third at the checkers in the car he shared with Helio Castroneves
and Graham Rahal. Montoya followed
his teammate home in fourth to claim his first IMSA championship, a
second prototype title for co-driver Cameron, and the Teams crown
for Acura Team Penske.
Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo
Following a
season that included one win and four second-place finishes in 10
races, teammates Mario Farnbacher
and Trent Hindman claimed the GTD
drivers' title at the start of today's race, with their Meyer Shank
Racing team claiming the Teams Championship at the same time.
The #86 Acura NSX GT3 Evo ran as high as fourth with starting
driver Justin Marks, who joined
Farnbacher and Hindman for the long-distance races this year.
However, debris punctured the radiator as the race approached the
five-hour mark, and the resulting coolant leak and overheating led
to the car's retirement.
Teammates Katherine Legge,
Christina Nielsen and Bia Figueiredo kept their Heinricher/MSR Acura
NSX GT3 Evo in contention throughout the race. Running a triple
stint to close out the race, Legge was in a three-way battle for
fifth place in the final laps, until a passing prototype forced her
Acura off the racing line, dropping the #57 Caterpillar Acura to a
seventh-place finish.
Social media content and video links from this weekend's
championship-winning Acura Motorsports IMSA sports car racing
action at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta are available on HPD's
Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD) and on
Twitter at (https://twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD). Produced by the
Carolinas Productions Group, YouTube video packages can be found
at: https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV.
Next
Saturday's race concluded the 2019 IMSA
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Acura will return to defend its
prototype and GTD titles in the 2020 season, which opens
January 25 with the Rolex 24 at the
famed Daytona International Speedway.
Quotes
Dane
Cameron (#6 Acura Team Penske ARX-05) wins 2019 DPi
Drivers' Championship with co-driver Juan
Pablo Montoya; Acura wins the DPi Manufacturers'
Championship and Acura Team Penske claims the DPi Teams'
Championship: "It's a tremendous day. It was a little too close
for comfort there in the last couple of hours, but we did exactly
what we needed to do. We didn't have a ton of pace [in the race]
for the first time all year, but we had a plan and executed
perfectly. Congratulations to everyone at Acura and HPD for their
support and making this night possible."
Juan Pablo Montoya (#6
Acura Team Penske ARX-05) wins 2019 DPi Drivers' Championship
with co-driver Dane Cameron:
"I've been lucky, I won a couple of Indianapolis 500s, Formula One races, NASCAR
races, I can't complain. I came into this program at the start last
year and to win the championship for Acura and Acura Team Penske is
amazing. Everyone in the program did an amazing job all season
long. The support from Acura has been incredible. Hopefully, we can
grow on it into the future."
Trent Hindman (#86 Meyer
Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo) won GTD Drivers' Championship
with co-driver Mario Farnbacher,
Meyer Shank Racing also claims the GTD Teams' Championship:
"It's a little bit bittersweet [dropping out of the race]. I mean,
we had a really excellent car all weekend long, as we have all
season. So, it's a shame we couldn't capitalize on that [in the
race today] and help our teammates secure the Manufacturers'
Championship. But it's also very sweet. We got the drivers' and
teams' championships wrapped up, and that's just an incredible
feeling. Thank you to everyone at Acura, HPD, Auto Nation,
Sirius/XM, all the Meyer Shank Racing guys, my co-drivers Mario and
Justin, and most important, Mike
[Shank] for opening up this opportunity for me."
Mario Farnbacher (#86
Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo) won GTD Drivers'
Championship with co-driver Trent
Hindman: "It's definitely a really cool feeling [to win
the championship] and I am so proud of this team. It's pretty cool
that I had my first race in America at Road Atlanta and now to win
the championship here is pretty special. The trust that
Michael Shank, HPD and Acura have
put in me is an amazing feeling. Mike always wants 100 percent out
of us every time we race, and to be able to do that for him and
give him this championship is such an accomplishment. I couldn't
have asked for better teammates this year and I will remember this
championship forever."
Jon Ikeda (Vice President
and Acura Brand Officer): on Acura's 2019 IMSA
championship-winning season: "We started this motorsports
journey in 2017. To be here and winning championships after just
three years is just incredible. I can't say enough about
Mike Shank and his Meyer Shank team, who have been with us from the
start. Roger Penske and his team are
the gold standard of the industry. We partnered with winners, and
we've gotten great support from everyone at HPD with their tireless
efforts. Acura is a performance brand. We're here to win races and
compete for championships. And we're not done yet."
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SOURCE Acura Motorsports