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agosto 24, 2020 - Acura

Acura, McMurray and Farnbacher Claim Championship leads at VIR

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  • Matt McMurray, #mariofarnbacher finish second in VIRginia International Raceway thriller
  • Acura claims Manufacturers' Championship lead
  • Misha Goikhberg, Alvaro Parente run seventh in #57 #acura NSX GT3 Evo

The #86 Meyer Shank #racing #acura NSX GT3 Evo of Matt McMurry and #mariofarnbacher shone at VIRginia International Raceway at the Michelin GT Challenge, finishing second in an exciting battle for GTD class honors.

The first of two GT-only rounds of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, VIR showcased a thriller that saw the #86 #acura claim the second step on the podium and take the leads in the Drivers', Teams' and Manufacturers"championships along the way.  Following today's race, #acura takes over the 10-manufacturer GTD division lead with 121 points to 120 for Lexus and 113 for BMW.  In the battle for the GTD drivers'title, Farnbacher and McMurry leave VIR with 115 points, to 113 for Jack Hawksworth and Arron Telitz with 110.

McMurray stuck his NSX GT3 Evo on the second row of the grid in qualifying, and moved from fourth to second on the first lap of the race. The yellow flag flew at the end of lap one, marking the first of three cautions that disrupted the opening 30 laps of the two hour, 40-minute endurance contest.

Still in second with 57 minutes to go, McMurray handed the #86 #acura over to co-driver #mariofarnbacher. The German driver quickly cycled through to second place during the ensuing pitstops, before locking up the brakes while going for the lead in the first turn, and falling back to fourth after a brief off-course excursion.

Farnbacher recovered spectacularly, setting the fastest lap of the race and passing the #74 Mercedes-AMG of Lawson Aschenbach for third, and then reeling in the second place #48 Lamborghini of Bryan Sellers in the final 10 minutes of the event. Farnbacher utilized GTLM traffic as a "pick" to make a successful move on Sellers and secure second place on the final lap. 

The sister #57 #acura NSX GT3 Evo from Heinricher #racing with MSR Curb-Agajanian started eighth on the grid and battled hard through a hectic race to finish seventh at the line. Misha Goikhberg tackled the first one hour and forty minutes before Alvaro Parente brought the #57 home seventh following a competitive battle with Pat Long's #16 Porsche and #44 Lamborghini of Andy Lally in the final hour.

Though Gradient #racing struggled early in the race, they recovered to get valuable track time and prepare for the next round of the GTD Sprint Cup Championship [for shorter races on the schedule]. Starting ninth in the hands of Till Bechtolsheimer, the #22 #acura found the wall early in the race, but lost only two laps for repairs and returning to the track. Both Bechtolsheimer and co-driver Marc Miller kept pace with the field, despite their wounded car, turning useful laps and collecting data.

The Meyer Shank #racing team will next be in action September 4-6 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta for the Michelin Endurance Challenge Weekend–the event that has replaced the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen on the schedule. Contesting only the Sprint Cup, Gradient #racing will return to competition September 25-26 at the #acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio.

Acura Team Penske
IMSA's Prototype category was not a part of the IMSA weekend at Virginia International Raceway, which featured the GTD and GTLM classes only. The #acura Team Penske ARX-05s will return to the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for the next race on the schedule, September 4-6 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta for the Michelin Endurance Challenge Weekend.

Acura Motorsports social media content and video links from the IMSA Road Race Showcase at Road America will be available on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD).  Produced by the CoForce Digital Media, the YouTube videos can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV.  

Quotes
Mario Farnbacher (#86 Meyer Shank #racing #acura NSX GT3 Evo) started fourth, finished second: "Matt was super strong this weekend and that was actually the base for our success today. He improved quite a lot during the weekend, which was really nice to see how he has developed. He really didn't make any mistakes so I am really proud of him. Also super happy with the team, they made great strategy calls especially during the first yellow to keep Matt out there. Unfortunately I locked up when I was behind (Bill) Auberlen so I had to push after that. There were some really awesome fights and really close battles with both Lawson (Aschenbach) and Bryan Sellers. I'm happy to be back on the podium, but somehow, at VIR I never stand at the top. Overall it was really good points which is why we are now provisional championship leaders. Hopefully we can maintain that through the next few races."

Matt McMurry (#86 Meyer Shank #racing #acura NSX GT3 Evo) started fourth, finished second: "It's great to get another podium. It's not quite the win that we wanted but we got a lot of points this weekend and should now be in the championship lead. Everyone did an awesome job, strategy and pit stops were perfect today. Mario did some crazy laps and made some crazy passes to claw his way back up to second. Next up is Road Atlanta which is one of my favorite tracks."

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Michelin GT Challenge at VIR

Circuit: Virginia International Raceway (3.27-mile road course) Alton, Va.

Weather: Overcast, humid, 84 degrees F 

Top 5 GTD, #acura Results:

  Ps. Drivers Team Chassis Laps / Notes

  1. Bill Auberlen / Robby Foley Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 M 83 laps

  2. #mariofarnbacher / Matt McMurry Meyer Shank #racing #acura NSX GT3 Evo +0.937 seconds

  3. Bryan Sellers/ Madison Snow Paul Miller #racing Lamborghini Huracan 83 laps

  4. Gar Robinson/ Lawson Aschenbach Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 83 laps

  5. Jack Hawksworth / Aaron Telitz AIM Vasser-Sullivan Lexus RCF GT3 83 laps

  7. Alvaro Parente / Misha Goikhberg Meyer Shank #racing #acura NSX GT3 Evo +39.816 seconds

12. Marc Miller / Till Bechtolscheimer Gradient #racing #acura NSX GT3 Evo 81 laps