Acura Motorsports, RealTime Racing Reveal Driver Lineup
For the Intercontinenal GT Challenge California Eight Hours
• IMSA champion Dane Cameron to make Acura debut, will join Ryan Eversley and Tom Dyer in #43 RTR Acura NSX GT-3
• ADAC GT Masters championship leader Jules Gounon added to roster of #93 Acura alongside Peter Kox and Mark Wilkins
• Season-ending Intercontinental GT Challenge event takes place next month
SANTA CLARITA, CA (September 19, 2017) – Acura Motorsports and RealTime Racing today announced additions to the team’s regular SprintX driver lineup, identifying who will take part in next month’s season-ending Intercontinental GT Challenge California Eight Hours at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
Reigning IMSA prototype champion Dane Cameron will join series regulars Ryan Eversley and Tom Dyer aboard the #43 RTR Acura. Second-generation French racer Jules Gounon, currently closing on the ADAC GT Masters championship with just two rounds remaining, has been added to the roster of the #93 NSX GT-3 co-driven by Peter Kox and Mark Wilkins.
“We are excited to race in the inaugural InterContinental GT race in the United States. It will be a great conclusion to our first year of racing the NSX GT3, and a nice transition to the global racing program for the car in 2018,” said NSX GT3 Project Leader Lee Niffenegger of Honda Performance Development. “This also represents a final opportunity to dial in the settings we want to pass on to our new customers going forward.
“In addition to our regular RealTime Sprint-X driver line-up, we have a great pair of talents joining us for this event,” Niffenegger continued. “Dane [Cameron] is a new addition to the Acura Motorsports family, and it’s great to get him involved with the GT3 program, in addition to his duties in the new Acura DPi. We’ve added some international flair with Jules [Gounon], and he will provide valuable feedback given his experience in multiple GT3 cars in 2017. He’s had a big year with podiums and wins in several major international events, so hopefully, we can keep that going.”
A non-championship eight-hour endurance contest, the Intercontinental GT Challenge will take place October 15 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. A large field is expected, featuring entries from various GT3 racing series around the world, including leading
teams from the Pirelli World Challenge such as RTR; the Blancpain GT Series in Europe; and Blancpain GT Asia.
While not an official round of the Pirelli World Challenge, the “California 8 Hours” will be the third round of the four-race Intercontinental GT Challenge. The series opened in February with the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour in Australia; followed by July’s Total 24 Hours of Spa. Following the California 8 Hours, the series will conclude with the Sepang 12 Hours in December. However, Acura Motorsports and RealTime Racing are taking part in only the Laguna Seca round.
Already a three-race winner in its inaugural season of North American racing, the Acura NSX GT3 is raced in the GT category Pirelli World Challenge by RTR, and in the GTD Division of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship by Michael Shank Racing.
The NSX GT3 races against premium automotive brands including Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche at a wide variety of North American racing circuits, ranging from the tight confines of street courses such as Long Beach and Detroit to traditional road courses like Road America, the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and the wide-open Daytona International Speedway.
Honda Performance Development (HPD), the racing arm for Acura Motorsports in North America, and J.A.S. Motorsport of Italy are now offering the race-winning NSX GT3 for sale around the world for the 2018 season.
The NSX GT3 chassis, including the multi-material body structure and TIG-welded chrome-molly roll cage, is built alongside the production NSX at the Performance Manufacturing Center in Marysville, Ohio, exclusive worldwide manufacturing facility for the NSX. PMC also operates a repair facility for the NSX GT3.
The production-based 3.5-liter, twin-turbocharged V6 racing engines are built alongside their production-vehicle counterparts at the Anna Engine Plant in Anna, Ohio. The racing engine uses the same design specifications as the production 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 NSX GT3’s rear wheels.
The NSX GT3 races against premium automotive brands including Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche at a wide variety of North American racing circuits, ranging from the tight confines of street courses such as Long Beach and Detroit to traditional road courses like Road America, the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and the wide-open Daytona International Speedway.