RealTime Racing Acuras Looking To Stay in Top Five at Sonoma

• Acura TLX GT has earned top-five finishes in six of last seven races
• Ryan Eversley stands fifth in series driver points
• Acura in top five in Manufacturers’ Championship with three races remaining
• Eversley leads the series in points scored over last eight races

MARYSVILLE, Ohio (September 16, 2016) – Acura’s Pirelli World Challenge GT program rounds the clubhouse turn and heads for home this weekend, as the RealTime Racing Acura TLX GTs look to continue their late-season surge at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, CA.

Second-year PWC driver Ryan Eversley has taken his blue-and-white #43 RealTime Acura TLX GT to top-five finishes in six of the last seven races, strengthening his grip on the fifth spot in the drivers’ championship. Eversley’s charge has seen him lead the series in points scored over the last eight races, aiding Acura’s move into fifth place in the competitive Manufacturers’ Championship.

This weekend’s trip to the challenging 2.385-mile Sonoma road course will feature Rounds 18 and 19 of the 20-race PWC campaign and could determine how the final chapter for the 2016 is written for the team.

Eversley will have a new teammate in the RealTime Racing Acura TLX GT this weekend, as Peter Kox takes the wheel in the team’s #34 entry, switching duties after serving as a development driver for the Acura NSX GT3 during the past month. Kox, an accomplished sports car driver with a class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans to his credit, will be making his first start in Pirelli World Challenge competition.

“After the fantastic job Peter has been doing in the development of the NSX GT3, we wanted to get him racing, and not just testing. Track time will be at a premium, but I’m confident he will get up to speed quickly,” said Senior Program Engineer Lee Niffenegger of Honda Performance Development. “This weekend could prove to be a challenge for the TLX GT, on a track that hasn’t been kind to us in the past. However, the RealTime team has had the TLX GT working well everywhere it has been lately, so I think that Acura Motorsports will finally get some solid results in Sonoma.”

Eversley is just 40 points behind Johnny O’Connell for fourth in the series standings, but faces a challenge to his top-five status, as Bryan Heitkotter has closed to within 36 markers of the Georgia-born Eversley after sweeping the Utah doubleheader last month.

“I’m optimistic about our upcoming weekend at Sonoma. This was the first track I ever raced on, so it’s got a special place in my heart,” Eversley noted. “We recently tested a few new components for the TLX and found some small things that could help us out and hopefully, keep our strong results coming.”

The RealTime squad has five wins on the 12-turn Sonoma course, climbing to the top of the podium with three different drivers, including three victories with team owner Peter Cunningham.

Pirelli World Challenge qualifying takes place Saturday at 12:55 p.m. ET, with Round 18 getting underway at 4:45 p.m. Round 19 takes place Sunday afternoon at 4:15 p.m. ET. The 50-minute race broadcasts can be viewed live on the Internet at www.world-challengeTV.com. The tape-delayed race broadcast can be seen September 25 at 4 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.