“There’s no two without three”says a well-known ancient saying that Acura Motorsport has taken it very literally by conquering a historic success at the 24h of Daytona.
Waiting to see if the sentence added “…and the four comes by itself” will be treated in the same way next year, for the third time in a row a car from the American brand of Honda Performance Development takes first place in the opening round of the 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship.
Historical, we said, because this time there were many unknowns in the debut of the brand new LMDh cars present in the GTP Class, where even on this occasion there was no lack of twists and emotions up to the last lap before the checkered flag .
The ARX-06 #60 of Meyer Shank Racing-Curb Agajanian triumphs, a team that repeats the 2022 victory with the ARX-05 DPi, thanks to a comeback perfected by exploiting the neutralizations with Full Course Yellow and Safety Car, and in great management of the finale by Tom Blomqvist.
But it must also be said that the first place for the white-pink-blue Acura had already deserved it well in advance, given that Colin Braun, Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud were also authors of outstanding tests and a clearly superior pace to their rivals.
#60 Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06: Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun, Helio Castroneves, Simon Pagenaud
Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Images
In this case, the Cadillacs of Chip Ganassi Racing had benefited from the aforementioned neutralizations and some stops that the Acuras had had to make to sort out some problems with the gearbox, topping up fluids and replacing the rear bodywork, to climb in front of everyone.
The #60 had thus also lost the podium in some situations during the night and on Sunday morning, while the ‘colleague’ #10 of Wayne Taylor Racing-Andretti Autosport had even found itself one lap behind the leaders.
But thanks precisely to the great pace of a car that seems to have been built to perfection on the Oreca chassis, to the management of the drivers/teams and also to the neutralizations which have messed up everyone’s plans again in the last four hours, Blomqvist/Braun/Castroneves/Pagenaud climb on the first step of the podium, closely followed by Filipe Albuquerque, Louis Delétraz, Brendon Hartley and Ricky Taylor with the #10 of WTR-Andretti.
#60 Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06: Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun, Helio Castroneves, Simon Pagenaud, #7 Team Penske Porsche 963: Matt Campbell, Felipe Nasr, Michael Christensen, #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX- 06: Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque, Louis Deletraz, Brendon Hartley, #01 Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V-LMDh: Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande, Scott Dixon
Photo by: Richard Dole / Motorsport Images
“I knew we had a fantastic and incredible car, and I can only thank everyone who has been part of this project for the excellent work,” said an excited Blomqvist after crossing the finish line in triumph.
“I am grateful to those who gave me the opportunity to drive it and be in charge of taking it to the finish line. To be honest, I was sure I had an advantage over the Cadillacs. We were good on restarts, so I was confident that with them behind me I could manage the race better. situation. But in the final stages I was a bit nervous because the #10 was definitely the second fastest car so it was a question of defending and managing the situation. We kept it at bay and we had to be at another level to get this win.” .
Blomqvist was immediately attacked when he crashed badly in testing with the new Acura, but once again he proved that he has the full pulse of the situation and that he also deserved the title last year.
“This achievement is a team effort. What is extraordinary about MSR is that everyone is able to perform to their fullest potential, and that is really important. What Mike Shank and Jim Meyer have done to create a good atmosphere at the ‘within the team, it’s an open book and I believe this allows everyone to work to the best of their ability’.
“It’s especially true for me, I really believe in this project because they put a lot of faith in me and I’m really grateful for that. Last year I was in the grandstand watching the end of the race because Helio had the final stint, but this year I felt more comfortable in the car because I was the architect of our destiny”.
“The feeling I had when I exited the ‘Bus Stop-Le Mans’ chicane on the last lap and of course seeing the smiles on everyone’s faces is amazing.”
#60 Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06: Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun, Helio Castroneves, Simon Pagenaud
Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Images
Finally, the Anglo-Swede also spoke of the technical problems that could have sent him to hell with his teammates, things that weighed heavily on other rival teams (see Porsche and BMW).
“Luckily it wasn’t something that affected us when we were out on track, so that was good. We also had a small battery problem towards the end. We weren’t able to pit the car like we wanted to, so we I had to keep the engine running, and that’s always a little more stressful.”
“But in general my life has been made easier by the car I’ve had in my hand all week. The first time we hit the track I knew straight away that we were fast and that the car was special. Of course everyone thought that the others were hiding, but we have shown how good the car is. And that is a real compliment to everyone involved in this project.”
#60 Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06: Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun, Helio Castroneves, Simon Pagenaud
Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images
This time Castroneves reversed roles with Blomqvist in the final, but he didn’t miss a smile, even heaving a sigh of relief once he learned of the sobbing change.
“Frankly, I didn’t notice any problems until they said we were wasting time in the pits because there was something wrong with the gearbox. But I never asked what it was because I didn’t want to know the answer, which could have distract me while I was driving!” reveals the Brazilian.
“What they have done as a team has been perfect. I have never felt anything strange inside the car. This team is extraordinary. It is absolutely a dream come true. I am happy to start the year like this and to continue like this”.
#60 Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06: Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun, Helio Castroneves, Simon Pagenaud
Photo by: Richard Dole / Motorsport Images
Meanwhile team principal Michael Shank clarified what were the technical headaches that his team had to face.
“Our car had a gearbox problem all night long, which was crazy. We couldn’t fix it, so we decided to keep going until everything blew up! It didn’t happen and I have to say we were really lucky !” admits Shank.
“It was a very serious situation, the systems controller sits next to me and someone brought him a piece of racing tape that said ’90°C’ on it, so we stopped. reached that temperature, but we thought: ‘If it goes, it goes’. We kept checking the gearbox and the fluid levels, trying to fix it literally throughout the race”.
#10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-06: Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque, Louis Deletraz, Brendon Hartley
Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Images
A heart-pounding situation which in the end was resolved for the best, making fun of the Acura of WTR-Andretti which had managed to regain the podium, with Albuquerque ready to launch the final attack which Blomqvist rejected.
“First of all, Acura and HPD did an amazing job giving us two cars to fight for the win,” says his teammate Taylor. of Porsche and BMW”.
“Our cars ran flawlessly. For Acura to get three consecutive victories here is truly unprecedented, especially when you consider that we are always up against different manufacturers and different car specifications. It is our ninth top finish two since 2013 and I think no other team in the world has this kind of consistency in 24-hour races.”
“Finally, my teammates all rode like champions. It was exciting to watch Filipe at the end, who pushed his way through the opposition like that. He always gives everything and doesn’t let chances slip away. Unfortunately we didn’t have the pace to the victory and we finished second”.
#60 Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06: Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun, Helio Castroneves, Simon Pagenaud
Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Images
Also beaming David Salters, President of Honda Performance Development: “It’s an incredible feeling. The real privilege is to work with these people of the Acura teams and experience days like today. We all know that doesn’t happen all the time. Was it worth it? Alla great!”
“It has been two years since the start of the LMDh project and I think it is the best thing I have been involved in in my entire life. If this is not a demonstration of our motto, ‘Precision Crafted Performance’, I don’t know what is “This game isn’t rocket science, it’s about putting the right people in the right place and letting them do their job. It’s a historic moment. It’s the pinnacle of endurance and sportscar racing.”
“Winning today is incredible, to be honest. This program involves a lot of people, all of whom work very, very hard. So, kudos to all the engineers at Acura Motorsports, Honda Performance Development, Oreca, Meyer Shank Racing and Wayne Taylor Racing-Andretti Autosport “.
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