Press release
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september 13, 2021 - Acura
All-Acura Front Row at Laguna Seca
September 12, 2021 — MONTEREY, CA
- Wayne Taylor #racing #acura ARX-05 scores fourth consecutive front row start
- Filipe Albuquerque notches first IMSA pole position
- Meyer Shank #racing, Dane Cameron complete #acura front row sweep
Wayne Taylor Racing's #FilipeAlbuquerque scored his first #imsaweathertechsportscarchampionship pole position, and the team's third pole of the season for #acura, in qualifying at WeatherTech Raceway #lagunaseca.
The reigning Rolex 24 at Daytona winners for Albuquerque and co-driver Ricky Taylor will lead the pack around the 2.238-mile track in their #10 #acura ARX-05 prototype, followed by fellow #acura DPi drivers Dane Cameron and Olivier Pla in the Meyer Shank #racing machine.
The pole position marks the Wayne Taylor #racing team's fourth consecutive front-row start in 2021, and gives Honda Performance Development a double front row sweep between IMSA and INDYCAR today—following Alex Palou and Alexander Rossi's front-row lockout in qualifying for the Portland Grand Prix.
In the production-based GTD class, HPD GT3 Academy graduate Jacob Abel led the pack in his very first IMSA WeatherTech weekend. The 20-year-old is partnered with HPD factory driver Mario Farnbacher for his debut in the Compass #racing #acura NSX GT3 Evo. The pair will start the race in the 11th position, just one ahead of Magnus with Archangel's John Potter and Andy Lally in their #44 NSX.
Opting to save tires on the high-degradation #lagunaseca track, Gradient #racing opted not to run in the grid-setting qualifying session and will start the race 13th.
Laguna Seca Qualifying Results
- 1st overall - #10 #FilipeAlbuquerque, Wayne Taylor #racing #acura ARX-05 DPi
- 2nd overall - #60 Dane Cameron, Meyer Shank #racing #acura ARX-05 DPi
- 11th GTD - #76 Jacob Abel, Compass #racing #acura NSX GT3 Evo
- 12th GTD - #44 John Potter, Magnus with Archangel #acura NSX GT3 Evo
- 13th GTD - #66 Till Bechtolsheimer, Gradient #racing #acura NSX GT3 Evo
Quotes
Filipe Albuquerque (#10 Wayne Taylor #racing ARX-05) pole qualifier; race co-driver will be Ricky Taylor: "Pole Position at Laguna: it's such an iconic track and I'm really happy about it. Starting in P1 at this track is super important. Not only for the championship points, but for the run down to Turn 1. It's important to be on the inside because starting on the outside here can be really tricky. I'm happy for the team, they did an amazing job. I'm happy for Wayne Taylor, for Konica Minolta, for #acura. We are on it. But still, this is just ten percent of the weekend. Tomorrow is the most important part. We need a clean race. No mistakes. And grab the opportunity with a fast car."
Jacob Abel (#76 Compass #racing #acura NSX GT3 Evo) qualified 11th, making his IMSA WeatherTech debut: "It's been a pretty steep learning curve in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. But, the car has been really good in practice and we have really good race pace, and our qualifying, when we were doing simulations in practice, was also really good. Going into qualifying itself, I just got trapped a little bit in traffic and couldn't find the perfect gap—and that's really crucial in this series, since you only get five or six laps. It's not where we want to [start], but we'll take it and hopefully improve. I'm so pumped for tomorrow. It's going to be a challenge, the longest race I've ever done—even though it's not very long in IMSA terms—but it's long for me. It should be good, a lot can happen in two hours and 40 minutes."
Kelvin Fu (Director Program Management, Honda Performance Development) on today's double front row sweep for #acura at #lagunaseca and Honda at Portland: "We had a great qualifying session here in Laguna, congrats to both Wayne Taylor #racing and Meyer Shank #racing on their front row starts. This is in addition to the qualifying results in Portland, where we locked out the front row and scored five of the top six starting positions. Just a great day for everyone at HPD!"
Fast Facts
- Albuquerque's pole position is the third consecutive DPi pole for #acura at WeatherTech Raceway #lagunaseca. Both prior poles were converted to victories.
- Acura Motorsports and HPD have a long, successful history at #lagunaseca, recording 17 victories – more than at any other #racing circuit – in Camel Lights, LMP1, LMP2, Prototype, GTD and DPi competition from 1992-2020.
Where to Watch the Monterey SportsCar Championship
Live US television coverage from WeatherTech Raceway #lagunaseca begins at 4 p.m. EDT Sunday on the NBC Sports Network. Live flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available on NBC Sports Gold TrackPass, on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports App with NBCSN authentication.
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 Motorsports social media content and video links from #lagunaseca can be found on Instagram (www.instagram.com/hondaracing_hpd), Twitter (twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD). Additional features and long-form videos can be found on the Honda Racing/HPD YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV).
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