Acura Automobiles: Acura NSX GT3s Start Off Strong at Lime Rock Park

  • Lawson Aschenbach takes his Meyer Shank Racing Acura to second-quickest on the day
  • Katherine Legge posts third-fastest time in her NSX GT-3
  • GT-only WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race takes place on Saturday

As has been the case throughout much of the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season, three Friday practice sessions at the fast, tight, Lime Rock Park road course resulted in an extremely close field.  The three hour-longs sessions meant a busy day for drivers and teams, and at the end of the final practice the pair of Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3s were at the sharp end of the time sheets.

Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3
The Meyer Shank Racing NSX GT3s started the weekend on a positive note, with the #86 Acura of Katherine Legge and Alvaro Parente ending the hour-long session second fastest in GTD, with teammates Lawson Aschenbach and Alvaro Parente sixth in their #93 NSX GT3.

After using the second practice session to focus on race setup work, the MSR Acura’s were once again near the top of the time sheets in the final, and quickest session of the day.  Aschenbach posting the second-quickest GTD time of the day, with Legge less than a tenth of a second back, third in GTD.

Acura NSX GT3 activities continue Saturday at Lime Rock Park with qualifying at 9:30 a.m. EDT and the sixth round of the 11-race GTD championship.  The green flag for the two-hour, 40-minute Northeast Grand Prix flies at 3 p.m. EDT.

Quotes
Lawson Aschenbach (driver, #93 Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3) 2nd fastest in final practice: “Overall, a good day in the Acura NSX GT3. This is a unique track and it produces a lot of challenges: close-quarters racing; chassis setup, which can be affected by track conditions, temperature, even cloud conditions throughout the race.  Both of our Meyer Shank Racing Acura’s have been fast all day, and I’m really optimistic for the race tomorrow.”

Katherine Legge (driver, #86 Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3) 3rd fastest in final practice: “We ended up P3 on the day, and I think we’re going in the right direction with the [chassis] setup.  I’m really happy with the car, we made some big gains in this final practice and we were quick throughout a long run. I think we’re in good shape for the race.”

Acura Team Penske Prototype
IMSA’s Prototype category is not a part of the IMSA weekend at Lime Rock, but the Acura ARX-05s will return to the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for the August 3-5 Continental Tire Road Race Showcase at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. 

Where to watch the Northeast Grand Prix
The Northeast Grand Prix starts at 3 p.m. EDT Saturday, July 21, with same-day television coverage on Fox Sports 1, starting at 4 p.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.

Video recaps from this weekend’s Acura racing activities at Lime Rock Park will be posted on the “Honda Racing/HPD” YouTube channel. Produced by the Carolinas Production Group, the videos can be found in the HPD Playlist at: https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV.

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
Circuit: Lime Rock Park (1.474-mile road course) Lakeville, CT
Weather: Mostly sunny, warm, 80 degrees F

Top-10 GTD Friday Final Practice Results:

 

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