Acura Teams Begin Championship Defense at Rolex 24
Acura Team Penske seeks championship repeat and Rolex 24 victory
Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo begins chase for second consecutive GTD title
Twice-around-the-clock endurance classic opens the 2020 racing season on Saturday

TORRANCE, Calif. (January 20, 2020) – Acura Motorsports returns to Daytona International Speedway this weekend, as Acura Team Penske and Meyer Shank Racing begin their respective Daytona Prototype International and GT Daytona title defenses when the 2020 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season kicks off with the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

A dozen major automobile manufacturers from around the globe – including Cadillac and Mazda in DPi; and Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, BMW, Aston Martin and Lexus in GTD – will take to the high banks and challenging turns of the Daytona road course for the classic, twice-around-the-clock endurance contest. All will be chasing the defending champion Acura teams: Team Penske in DPi and Meyer Shank Racing in GTD.

“Acura had a lot of success in 2019. In many ways, it was the culmination of several seasons of continuous progress,” said Ted Klaus, President of Honda Performance Development, the racing arm of Acura Motorsports in North America. “But a victory at the Rolex 24 eluded us last year, so that’s definitely a goal for both HPD and our partner teams heading into this year’s race.

“We’re excited about the start of the new season, and the opportunity to repeat our championships in both DPi and GTD. This is a long and grueling event, and the competition will be fierce, as always, but that’s why we race. We can’t wait for the green flag on Saturday.”

Everything came together for both Acura Motorsports IMSA programs in 2019, with Acura Team Penske and drivers Dane Cameron and Juan Pablo Montoya sweeping the DPi Manufacturers’, Drivers’ and Team championships with three wins and six podiums in prototype; while Meyer Shank Racing took the Drivers’ and Team championships in GTD with drivers Mario Farnbacher and Trent Hindman. All return for 2020 as Acura seeks to add to its tally of race wins and titles.

Acura and HPD at the Rolex 24
The 2020 Rolex 24 will be Acura’s sixth appearance as a prototype manufacturer at Daytona International Speedway. Acura has two previous class wins at Daytona, and HPD/Honda won overall in 2016.

Acura first took part in the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 1991, winning the Camel Lights class with Comptech Racing and drivers Parker Johnstone, Steve Cameron [uncle of Dane Cameron], Bob Lesnett and Doug Peterson, driving a Spice Acura SE90P. Acura went on to win eight of 14 races in 1991 to claim the Camel Lights Championship.

Acura and Comptech repeated as Camel Lights winners at the 1992 Rolex 24, with drivers Johnstone, Cameron and Jimmy Vasser [who went on to win Honda’s first Indy car championship in 1996]. Acura won eight of 15 races in 1992 to successfully defend its Camel Lights title.

Running an HPD/Honda engine, Extreme Speed Motorsports won the Rolex 24 in 2016 with Pipo Derani, Scott Sharp, Johannes van Overbeek and Ed Brown driving a Ligier JSP2-Honda. This was HPD’s first overall victory at Daytona.

Acura returned to IMSA Prototype competition in 2018, partnered with Team Penske. Last year, in a rain-shortened event, the #7 Acura ARX-05 of Helio Castroneves, Ricky Taylor and Alexander Rossi finished third. That trio returns this year, along with their defending series champion teammates Dane Cameron and Juan Pablo Montoya in the #6 Acura, joined by their endurance race co-driver, Indy 500 champion Simon Pagenaud.

In GTD, Meyer Shank Racing recorded a second-place finish at the 2018 edition of the Rolex 24, and will be seeking the class win with a revised driver lineup. Defending champion Mario Farnbacher continues to anchor the #86 NSX GT3 Evo, now partnered with Matt McMurry, Shinya Michimi and Jules Gounon.

Farnbacher’s co-champion in 2019, Trent Hindman, moves over to the #57 Heinricher Racing with MSR Acura, joining full-season drivers Alvaro Parente and Misha Goikhberg. Veteran NASCAR and IndyCar race winner A.J. Allmendinger completes the driving lineup for the #57 NSX GT3 Evo.