Honda Racing Corporation USA has confirmed that Meyer Shank Racing will return to Acura racing for the 2025 IMSA SportsCar Championship season.
The move comes a year after the team lost its deal to run the brand-backed ARX-06 when it was found to have manipulated tire data during its 2023 Daytona 24 Hours victory. It also legally triumphed at Mosport and the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta later that season.
HRC revealed that part of its multi-year commitment to the project includes taking on a “broader operational role”. Its personnel will compete as engineers on one of the two GTP cars, while MSR will field the second Acura ARX-06.
“Running our own GTP car is the next exciting step for our team at HRC US,” said David Salters, President of HRC USA. “We race to develop our people and our technology, and we’re thrilled to partner with MSR to race our ARX-06 against some of the best teams in the world. So running our own car is a logical next step for us.”
#60 Meyer Shank Racing W/Curb-Agajanian, Acura ARX-06, GTP: Colin Braun, Tom Blomqvist, Helio Castroneves #10: Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06, Acura ARX-06, GTP: Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque, Louis Deletraz
Photo by: Richard Dole / Motorsport Images
Mike Shank, who co-owns the team with former company executive Jim Meyer, said he was “grateful” to return to the Acura fold. MSR also fields two Honda-powered cars in the IndyCar Series.
“First of all, on behalf of everyone at Meyer Shank Racing, I want to express our gratitude to David Salters and everyone at HRC and Acura for giving us this opportunity,” said Shank.
“We are extremely grateful to have achieved this, and everyone on the team is looking forward to day one of our new relationship with Acura and the new role we will play in HRC US’s IMSA program.”
MSR will prepare and maintain both Acuras at its facilities in Etna, Ohio. It has operated several successful Acuras in the past, including the NSX GT3, ARX-05 DPi and ARX-06 GTP, earning IMSA victories and championships before separating at the end of the 2023 season.
![Race winners #40: Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti, Acura ARX-06, GTP: Jordan Taylor, Louis Deletraz, Colton Herta](https://cdn.motorsport.com/images/mgl/YW7oWy5Y/s1000/1020068557-lat-20240316-levitt.jpg)
Race winners #40: Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti, Acura ARX-06, GTP: Jordan Taylor, Louis Deletraz, Colton Herta
Photo by: Motorsport Images
Salters thanked the outgoing Wayne Taylor Racing – Andretti team, which now looks certain to land in the company-backed Cadillac program in 2025. Together with Acura, WTR has won two races this season, the 12 Hours of Sebring and the sprint of Detroit.
“I would like to sincerely thank Wayne Taylor, the WTR with Andretti team and its talented drivers. We have shared brilliant and successful moments together; and we look forward to concluding 2024 with more top-level racing.”
Wayne Taylor responded with a statement: “We have had a successful journey with HRC and Acura over the past four years. When it came to renewing, we listened and gave serious consideration to their future plans, but ultimately felt we needed to take a different direction for the future.”
“With three key races remaining in the season, our plan is to continue to focus on earning more podiums and races for Acura and end the year on a high note. We look forward to announcing our 2025 plans soon.”
The focus will now turn to the driver lineup for each program, with Tom Blomqvist likely to lead MSR’s return after being dropped from the IndyCar lineup following this year’s Indianapolis 500.
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