Michael Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3s Make Motor City Debut
• Acura NSX GT3s return to temporary street-circuit action
• MSR team seeks to build on competitive Long Beach runs
• Tight manufacturers’ championship battle continues

TORRANCE, Calif. (May 31, 2017) – Michael Shank Racing brings its pair of Acura NSX GT3s to the demanding Belle Isle temporary street circuit in Detroit this weekend, as the team builds on competitive runs at both the Circuit of the Americas earlier this month and at the Long Beach street circuit in April.

Detroit will be the second and final street circuit event of the 2017 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. As at Long Beach, it will be a 100-minute race, significantly shorter than the other endurance events on the WeatherTech schedule.

At Long Beach, both MSR Acura NSX GT3s appeared headed for excellent results, with the #93 Acura of Katherine Legge and Andy Lally lying third at one point in the highly-competitive GTD class and the #86 NSX GT3, piloted by Ozz Negri and Jeff Segal, climbing through the field after going to an alternative pit strategy early in the race.

But a miscommunication during a full-course caution “wave-by” procedure resulted in the #93 falling from third to 11th, while the #86 was the victim of contact from a fellow competitor on the last turn of the final lap, costing it a fifth-place finish. At the checkers, the Legge/Lally Acura was seventh, with the Negri/Segal NSX GT3 classified 10th.

In the Texas race, an ill-timed caution, just as Legge was about to pit the class-leading #93 Acura, cost the team valuable track position during the ensuing stop. That was followed by a pit exit violation and resulting penalty that cost Lally and Legge a chance at a top-five finish. The same caution negated the off-sequence pit strategy again employed for the #86 NSX GT3 of Segal and Negri, preventing them from gaining positions late in the race.

“The final results of the last two races do not reflect the true pace of the Acura NSX GT3s,” said Art St. Cyr, president of Honda Performance Development, which also oversees the Acura Motorsports effort. “As the development of the NSX GT3 continues, our performance level also has continued to improve. We hope to match that speed with results this weekend in Detroit.”

Competing in the GTD class of the sports car racing championship, the NSX GT3s race against premium automotive brands including Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche.

After four of 12 rounds, Acura is currently sixth in the tight GTD Manufacturers’ Championship standings, just seven points out of fourth, and only 16 points from second place.

Developed from the production Acura NSX, the NSX GT3 utilizes the production NSX’s ultra-rigid and lightweight multi-material body with aluminum-intensive space frame, which is produced at the Performance Manufacturing Center in Ohio, exclusive worldwide manufacturing facility for the NSX. The 3.5-liter racing engine uses the same design specifications as the production Acura NSX, including the block, heads, valve train, crankshaft, pistons and dry-sump lubrication system. A six-speed, sequential-shift racing gearbox delivers power to the rear wheels.