Legge, Parente Take Acura To GTD Victory at Laguna Seca
• Katherine Legge, Alvaro Parente score second GTD win of 2018 for Meyer Shank Racing
• Dane Cameron, Juan Pablo Montoya combine for Prototype podium
• GTD championship fight continues to season finale
MONTEREY, CA (September 9, 2018) – The #86 Acura NSX GT3 of Katherine Legge and Alvaro Parente came from behind – twice – to score a dominating GTD class victory Sunday at The America’s Tire 250 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
In Prototype, Dane Cameron led the first 41 laps in his Acura ARX-05 as he and Juan Pablo Montoya combined to finish third, the sixth podium finish of the season for Acura Team Penske.
Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3
After qualifying on the pole Saturday with a new lap record time, Legge fell from first to fourth when she was balked by slower traffic on a Lap 7 restart. But a race setup developed earlier in the weekend for the MSR Acura NSX GT3 provided for excellent tire wear, and Legge also stretched her fuel mileage to both regain the lead and run the first half of the two-hour, 40-minute contest before pitting and handing over the driving duties to Parente.
Parente continued to build his advantage to a 20-second margin over second place, but a slight delay during his final pit stop – due to a jammed wheel gun – saw him drop to fourth with just 30 minutes remaining. However another strong drive saw Parente close on the leaders and then regain the GTD lead in the final 10 minutes, setting the fastest GTD race lap in the process. Parente then took the checkers for his first win aboard the #86 Acura this year, and the second for Legge and the MSR team.
The #93 MSR Acura of Justin Marks and Lawson Aschenbach started 10th, but was caught up in a multi-car collision on the Lap 7 restart and was forced to retire with body and chassis damage.
With one race remaining, Acura and Legge remain second in the GTD Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ championships, respectively. Legge‘s win today closes the gap to leaders Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow to just six points (303-297) while Acura remains second in the Manufacturers’ Championship with 298 points to 310 for Lamborghini.