Michelin GT Challenge At VIR
Virginia International Raceway, Alton, Va.
1:30 p.m. EDT Saturday, August 22, 2020
Live Coverage on NBCSports.com TrackPass and IMSA Radio
ACURA NSX GT3 EVO TEAMS
Defending GTD champion Meyer Shank Racing is once again in the thick of the 2020 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship title chase with their pair of Acura NSX GT3 Evos. On the strength of a pair of podium finishes in three races this season, Acura is second in the GTD Manufacturers’ Championship, just five points out of first place, with seven races remaining.
Defending GTD Drivers’ Champion Mario Farnbacher and co-driver Matt McMurry are currently fourth in their #86 Acura NSX GT3 Evo, just four points off the lead in the drivers’ title chase. The pair finished third when the 2020 season resumed at the Daytona WeatherTech 240 in July, and second at the most recent round at Road America.
Meyer Shank Racing, meanwhile, currently is ranked third in the Teams’ Championship, also four points out of first.
MSR has continued its partnership with businesswoman/racer Jackie Heinricher in 2020 to field the #57 Acura NSX GT3 Evo for drivers Alvaro Parente and Misha Goikhberg. The pair finished fourth at the WeatherTech 240 at Daytona International Speedway in July.
The Texas-based Gradient Racing organization is fielding the #22 Acura NSX GT3 Evo in the seven, shorter GTD “Sprint Cup” races for drivers Marc Miller and Till Bechtolscheimer. The pair finished a solid 10th in their IMSA debut at the WeatherTech Daytona 240, and are currently ranked ninth in the Sprint Cup standings after two of seven races in that “championship within a championship.”
Meyer Shank Racing claimed both the Drivers’ and Team championships in GTD in 2019, with Farnbacher and Trent Hindman scoring one win (with endurance co-driver Justin Marks) at the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen, and four second-place finishes in 10 races.
ACURA TEAM PENSKE
IMSA’s Prototype category is not a part of the race weekend at Virginia International Raceway, but the championship-defending Acura ARX-05s will return for the sixth round of the 2020 championship, the Six Hours of Atlanta, September 6 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
The combination of Acura Motorsports, Team Penske and the Acura ARX-05 DPi resulted in a sweep of IMSA’s season-long championships in 2019, claiming the Manufacturers’, Teams’ and Drivers’ championships.
Dane Cameron and Juan Pablo Montoya combined for three race wins and four additional podium finishes to claim the 2019 Drivers’ Championship in the #6 Acura Team Penske entry. Teammates Helio Castroneves and Dane Cameron combined to win the most recent round in the series in their #7 Team Penske Acura ARX-05, the IMSA Sports Car Showcase at Road America, earlier this month in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
The Acura ARX-05 is the latest in a line of endurance prototypes to be fielded by the company, dating to 1991, just five years after the launch of the Acura brand. Based on the successful ORECA 07 chassis, the ARX-05 DPi features Acura-specific bodywork and utilizes the race-proven, production-based Acura AR35TT twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 engine.
WHERE TO WATCH
Live flag-to-flag race coverage from the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR will be available on the NBC Sports App and NBC Gold with NBCSN Trackpass authentication. The race broadcast also will re-air Sunday, August 23, on NBCSN, starting at 10 a.m. EDT.
Fans can listen to audio commentary via IMSA.com, RadioLeMans.com and Sirius XM Radio; and follow the race live via in-car cameras, IMSA Radio and timing & scoring available worldwide on IMSA.com and the IMSA mobile device App.
Acura Motorsports social media content and video links from the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR will be available on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD). Produced by the CoForce Digital Media, the YouTube videos can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV.