Acura TLX GT Racers Looking Forward to Canadian Challenge
• RealTime Racing Acuras have earned top-10 results in four of year’s seven races
• Ryan Eversley stands 10th in Pirelli World Challenge points
TORRANCE, Calif, (May 19, 2016) – The Acura TLX GT squad with RealTime Racing has had nearly a full month to shake off a rough weekend at Barber Motorsports Park, and as a result, heads north of the border this weekend with renewed confidence.
The Pirelli World Challenge will visit Canadian Tire Motorsports Park May 19-22 for Rounds Eight and Nine of the 2016 season after almost an entire month away from the track. The Honda Performance Development engineers and the Wisconsin-based RealTime Racing team used the off-weeks wisely, testing and continuing to unlock the secrets of speed that the team hopes will continue moving them up the GT grid.
“After the struggles at the last round, we are confident of better days to come this weekend. We’ve received some positive adjustments from the series for this round, and now it’s up to us to maximize those,” said Senior Program Engineer Lee Niffenegger of Honda Performance Development. “Canadian Tire Motorsports Park has some sections that should favor the characteristics of our cars, so we now need to take advantage of the opportunity and bring home some good results for Acura Motorsports.”
The 2.458-mile CTMP layout, formerly known as Mosport, has hosted PWC races for 24 of the last 26 seasons. The 10-turn track located in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada also provided a test for a rookie racer named Peter Cunningham 31 years ago, back when the RealTime Racing owner was getting his championship road-racing career underway.
“The track formerly known as Mosport is a favorite stop for the RealTime Acuras,” said Cunningham, who has four CTMP wins to his credit. “Fast, sweeping corners and an uphill straightaway that should have the TLX GTs in their element!”
Ryan Eversley used a last-lap pass in the opening race at CTMP last year to score a top-10 result for the team, while Cunningham battled to a pair of 11th-place runs. Eversley, who is currently 10th in the PWC GT Series point standings, is counting on the work done during the off-weeks to make a big difference over the race weekend.
“(CTMP) is one of my favorite tracks on the schedule!” enthused Eversley. “It’s very fast and daunting and the fan turnout is always very good. I’m hopeful that our TLX GTs will be strong after some recent testing, and that we can continue to fight inside the top 10.”
Pirelli World Challenge qualifying takes place Friday at 4:50 p.m., while the races take place Saturday at 1:15 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. All times listed are Eastern. The 50-minute race can be seen live on the Internet at www.world-challengeTV.com. The tape-delayed race broadcast will air May 29th at 12:00 p.m. ET on the CBS Sports Network.
Developed from the production Acura TLX by HPD and RealTime Racing, the Acura TLX GT features HPD chassis and aerodynamic performance parts approved for Pirelli World Challenge competition. It is powered by a direct-injected, twin-turbocharged V6 engine, developed by HPD from the production Acura TLX.