American Honda Motor Co. Inc.

10/11/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/11/2024 17:48

Third Row Start for Acura for Petit Le Mans Season Finale

October 11, 2024 - BRASELTON, GA
  • Filipe Albuquerque qualifies his Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06 fifth for Saturday's Petit Le Mans 10-hour endurance race
  • Jordan Taylor will start seventh in 2024 IMSA season finale at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta
  • Gradient Racing qualifies Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 14th for final IMSA race

Hopes for a second consecutive front-row start for Acura this season were dashed Friday at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, when traffic affected Filipe Albuquerque's best efforts, leaving him fifth in his #10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06 prototype. Albuquerque's co-drivers in Saturday's 2024 IMSA season finale will be Ricky Taylor and Brendon Hartley.

Driving the #40 Acura, WTRAndretti teammate Jordan Taylor will start seventh in the ARX-06 he shares with Louis Deletraz and Colton Herta, as Acura seeks a third consecutive Petit Le Mans victory.

In the production-based GTD class, the Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 will be starting 14th in its final run in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition. The #66 NSX will be driven by Sheena Monk, Tatiana Calderon and Stevan McAleer.

Motul Petit Le Mans Acura Qualifying Results

  • Qualified 5th - #10 Filipe Albuquerque, Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06. Co-drivers will be Ricky Taylor and Brendon Hartley.
  • Qualified 7th - #40 Jordan Taylor, Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06. Co-drivers will be Louis Deletraz and Colton Herta.
  • Qualified 14th in GTD - #66 Sheena Monk, Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22. Co-drivers will be Stevan McAleer and Tatiana Calderon.

Quotes
Filipe Albuquerque (#10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06) Qualified 5th: "Last qualifying of the year; I was expecting to do a little bit better. Fifth position in the end. Unfortunately, I didn't have the pace for pole position in the end although the car felt very good. I was a bit frustrated with traffic which ruined my rhythm of push laps, especially on the best laps for the tire. It is what it is. Again, it's important to say that qualifying is just for the ego of the drivers, it means nothing for the race. So, starting fifth, we'll look to have a clean start, and we'll build from there."

Jordan Taylor (#40 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06) Qualified 7th: "I think it's kind of where we thought we'd be, looking at practice times. It was always hard to get clear laps, so you never knew what anyone had, but I think we're probably where we thought we'd be. We had a little bit of balance issues, but I think our race pace should be a little better than our qualifying pace. At this point, I'm not too concerned; a lot is going to happen over ten hours, especially with this many cars. I think it'll be a fun day!"

Fast Facts

  • Acura and Honda Racing Corporation USA (formerly Honda Performance Development) have won 11 times at the challenging Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta circuit, including the two most recent Petit Le Mans events.
  • Meyer Shank Racing started the string of recent Petit Le Mans success in 2022, winning the final race of the DPi era, while Gradient Racing also took GTD honors.
  • With the move to the hybrid-powered Acura ARX-06 GTP in 2023, MSR successfully defended as Petit Le Mans victors, claiming the team's second consecutive win at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
  • Current Acura partner Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti also is a two-time Petit Le Mans winners, with victories coming in 2014 and again in 2018 as Acura seeks a "three-peat" in 2024.
  • Acura teams swept both DPi and GTD in the 2020 six-hour Tirerack.com Grand Prix of Road Atlanta and at the Petit Le Mans in 2022.

Where to Watch the Motul Petit Le Mans
Live, flag-to-flag coverage from Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta will be available on NBC Peacock starting at 12 noon ET Saturday. Live broadcast coverage will run on NBC from 12:00-3:00 p.m. ET Saturday; and then on the USA Network from 6:00-10:30 p.m. ET.

Fans can listen to audio commentary via IMSA.com, RadioLeMans.com and XM Radio; and follow the race live via in-car cameras, IMSA Radio and timing & scoring available worldwide on IMSA.com and the IMSA mobile device App.

Acura and HRC US social media content and video links can be found on:

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