Acura Wins Sebring

 After 12 hours of hard-fought IMSA endurance racing it was Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Global on top, with the #40 Acura ARX-06 taking the honors in the 2024 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

Starting third, the #40 crew of Deletraz, Jordan Taylor and Colton Herta led just 18 laps en route to victory, but a thrilling late-race pass in GT traffic with just four laps to go was all they needed to catapult themselves to the win.

On the way to said victory, Deletraz also set the fastest lap time in the IMSA GTP class of 1:49.497. With tonight's win, Acura moves into an early-season three-way tie for the IMSA GTP Manufacturers' Championship; while drivers Deletraz, Jordan Taylor and Herta are tied for first in the drivers' title chase.

The sister #10 Acura ARX-06 driven by Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque and Brendon Hartley led 55 laps on the day before losing a lap in pitlane after the team noticed smoke trailing from the rear of the car. Thankfully, it was a quick fix and the #10 crew was able to continue to the end where they would wind up fifth.

Patron Highcroft HPD ARX-01C Walk Around

David Brabham Gives Fans an In Depth Look Into the HPD ARX-01C.

Acura AMLS LMP1 Built From Scratch Overnight

Video of the Patrón Highcroft tream building an LMP1 car in less than 24 hours after a dramatic crash for Scott Sharp prior to Petit Le Mans.




Scott Sharp's Practice Crash for 2009 Petit Le Mans below:

[ALMS Results] Acura 1-2-3

A 1-2-3 overall sweep for the auto manufacturer yielded the second complete podium in Acura's two-and-a -half-year history in ALMS, following the Detroit sweep last August. In addition, Acura recorded its second consecutive victory in the LMP1 and LMP2 categories following the St. Petersburg double class win two weeks ago.

The Acura team of Gil de Ferran and Simon Pagenaud scored its first ALMS career win by taking a onesecond victory over David Brabham and Scott Sharp under caution to earn the overall event victory and the LMP1 title. Meanwhile, the Mexican duo of Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz notched their third straight LMP2 triumph of the 2009 campaign.

Tequila Patrón ALMS Grand Prix Overall Results
1. XM RADIO de FERRAN ACURA ARX-02a No. 66
Drivers: Gil de Ferran, Simon Pagenaud (1st LMP1)
2. PATRÓN HIGHCROFT ACURA ARX-02a No. 9
Drivers: David Brabham, Scott Sharp
3. LOWE'S FERNANDEZ ACURA ARX-01b No. 15
Drivers: Adrian Fernandez, Luis Diaz (1st LMP2)

UPCOMING ALMS RACE:
The American Le Mans Series returns to action May 15-17 at the beautiful Miller Motorsports Park outside Salt Lake City, Utah for the fourth stop on the ten-race ALMS tour. Acura will be seeking its first win at the Utah racing facility, after just missing the winner's circle last year.

Event: Larry H. Miller Utah Grand Prix
Track: Miller Motorsports Park
Tooele, Utah
(3.06 Miles , 15 turns)
Date: Sunday, May 17, 2009
1 p.m. (MDT)
Distance: 2 hours, 45 minutes
TV: SPEED TV, May 17
10 p.m. EDT (Delayed)

Acura Making ALMS History

David Brabham and Scott Sharp led an Acura 1-2 sweep Saturday in the Acura Sports Car Challenge through the streets of St Petersburg in the American Le Mans Series.

The veteran driving pair drove the No. 9 Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-02a prototype sports car to the lead on Lap 43 and recorded a 32-second victory over the Mexican duo of Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz in the No. 15 Lowe’s Fernandez Racing Acura ARX-01b in the 93-lap feature. The 1-2 Acura finish marked Acura's first ALMS sweep since last August in the streets of Detroit, when the automaker placed 1-2-3 overall.

Saturday's Acura sweep also made American Le Mans Series history with Acura taking wins in both the LMP1 and LMP2 class in the same event. No auto manufacturer had accomplished that feat in ALMS’ ten years.

Brabham and Sharp's win was the first for Acura in the LMP1 class.

Acura to Enter LMP1 Class in 2009 ALMS

Acura Motorsports will enter the LMP1 class in the 2009 American Le Mans Series.
Acura's entry into the most powerful and technically advanced division in ALMS will feature two Acura ARX-02a prototype sports cars developed by Honda Performance Development (HPD).
De Ferran Motorsports and Patrón Highcroft Racing will campaign the new Acura LMP1 cars, which are being designed in concert with Wirth Research in England. Testing of the new Acura LMP1 cars is scheduled for November.
Acura will also continue in the LMP2 category with the Lowe's Fernandez team competing on the 2009 ALMS tour.
Acura entered sports-car racing in 2007 by fielding Acura-powered LMP2 prototype cars on Michelin tires for Andretti Green Racing, Highcroft Racing and Lowe's Fernandez Racing in the 12-race ALMS series. The three-car contingent marked the first factory motorsports program in Acura's 20-year history. De Ferran Motorsports was added to the Acura lineup in 2008.
In the past year and a half, the Acura machines, with 3.4-liter, V-8 powerplants, have scored five LMP2 class victories, as well as an overall win by Patrón Highcroft Racing and drivers David Brabham and Scott Sharp earlier this year at Lime Rock Park. Acura cars also have recorded four overall pole positions.
"Since launching the Acura American Le Mans Series program in 2007, our goal has always been to compete at the highest level of sports-car racing," said John Mendel, Executive Vice President of Auto Operations for American Honda Motor Company, Inc. "The LMP1 class of the American Le Mans Series represents the pinnacle of sports-car racing in this country, from both a competitive and technological standpoint. As we prepare to elevate Acura to Tier One status among luxury road cars, we feel it only appropriate to make this move to the uppermost level of American Le Mans Series competition, as well."
The Acura Motorsports program featured the first racing engine and chassis primarily designed and developed by HPD, Honda's wholly-owned racing subsidiary. It also marked the first time HPD had taken on concurrent motorsports programs in both the American Le Mans Series and the IndyCar Series.
"This is the logical next step in our business plan," said Erik Berkman, HPD president. "The Acura sports-car program has energized HPD's associates and met numerous objectives during its first two seasons of American Le Mans Series competition. We feel we are fully prepared to take on this new challenge."
De Ferran returned to active competition this year by forming de Ferran Motorsports, with the former Indy 500 winner and multiple series champion serving as both driver and team owner. The legendary Brazilian racing figure recently served as Sporting Director for the Honda Formula One racing team before establishing his new ALMS team. De Ferran and young star Simon Pagenaud have driven the No. 66 Panasonic ELS Surround Acura ARX-01b in five races this season.
"I am delighted with our team's relationship with Acura and my longstanding involvement with Honda," said de Ferran, "and we have taken another important step with this new announcement. We are a young team, but de Ferran Motorsports has a great depth of experience and talent within its ranks. We are driven to produce a contending Acura Motorsports sports-car program. We look forward to the challenge competing in the LMP1 class and putting Acura at the forefront of American Le Mans Series racing."
The Patrón Highcroft Racing team, owned by team principal Duncan Dayton, has been the most successful of the Acura entries in 2008, taking the overall and LMP2 win at Lime Rock in July and LMP2 class victories at Long Beach, Road America and Mosport, Ontario, Canada. Brabham and Sharp drove the No. 9 Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-01b to all four victories. Brabham, the only ALMS driver ever to win in all four series classes, has won overall poles at Houston last year and Lime Rock this season for the team.
"Our relationship with Acura and HPD has been extremely beneficial to Highcroft Racing and we are proud to have been chosen as a part of Acura's new LMP1 program in 2009," said Dayton. "We have had a very collaborative effort with Acura, HPD and Wirth Research over the past two seasons. We started with a good business plan and have been competitive throughout our ALMS program. Adding Patrón as our major sponsor strengthened our Acura program, and we have had a very successful 2008 campaign. Now, moving to the LMP1 class, we expect to continue the progress that we began two years ago. The 2009 season will be exciting for Acura and the Patrón Highcroft Racing team."
Lowe's Fernandez Racing campaigns the No. 15 Lowe's Acura ARX-01b prototype with drivers Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz of Mexico. Lowe's Fernandez Racing, formed in the fall of 2000 by Fernandez and motorsports veteran Tom Anderson, is in its seventh year of competition, and the team has claimed victories in the Champ Car (CART), IndyCar (IRL) and Grand-Am Series.
"We have had an outstanding sports-car program with Acura the last two years," said Fernandez. "We started with the Lola chassis and the move to the Acura car was a great improvement for our Lowe's Fernandez team. Now, we will concentrate on racing for the LMP2 point championship, as well as winning many races. Our luck hasn't been with us as much as we would like. But our association with Acura has been outstanding and we are pleased to be continuing our relationship. We want to be right in the thick of the LMP2 title chase in 2009."
Acura's racing operation reflects the manufacturer's position as a leader in automotive performance and technology, and the American Le Mans Series provides an arena for competition against other car makers in the tough sport of endurance racing. Acura Automobile Division was launched on March 27, 1986. The prestigious marque, based in Torrance, Calif., has established a number of automotive firsts, including the first all-aluminum production car (NSX) in 1991. Acura offers premium performance vehicles from more than 260 U.S. dealers.
Honda Performance Development (HPD) was founded in 1993. Located in Santa Clarita, Calif., HPD is the technical operations center for Honda and Acura's high-performance racing cars and engines. HPD coordinates Honda's participation in the IndyCar Series and Acura's activities in American Le Mans Series.
[Source] Hondanews.com

Acura's First Overall American Le Mans Series Win

David Brabham's last-lap pole run on Friday at Lime Rock Park was trumped by his perform- ance Saturday in the Northeast Grand Prix.

The No. 9 Patrón Highcroft Acura ARX-01b driver put in one of the best maneuvers in American Le Mans Series history with a first-turn outside pass of Timo Bernhard to score Acura's first overall victory in two seasons of ALMS competition in front of massive crowd encircling the 1.53-mile road course.

Brabham, who co-drove to his second 24 Hours of Le Mans title last month, came from a 5.5-second deficit with eight minutes remaining in the two-hour, 45-minute feature to move around Bernhard's Penske Porsche on the next to last lap. The native Australian took over the driving chores from Scott Sharp with 90 minutes to go and worked his way from fourth to second on Lap 126. The final 40 laps proved to be an all-out sprint to the checkered flag, as Brabham and Bernhard diced their way through the backmarkers in a thrilling down-to-the-wire finish.









Northeast Grand Prix ALMS Race (Overall)
1. PATRÓN HIGHCROFT ACURA ARX-01b No. 9
2. Penske Porsche No. 7
3. Penske Porsche No. 6
5. LOWE'S FERNANDEZ ACURA ARX-01b No. 15
6. ANDRETTI GREEN XM ACURA ARX-01b No. 26
9. DE FERRAN PANASONIC ACURA ARX-01b No. 66

UPCOMING ALMS RACE:
Event: Acura Sports Car Challenge
Track: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, OH (2.25 miles)
Date: Saturday, July 19, 2008 2:10 p.m. (EDT)
Distance: 2 hours, 45 minutes
TV: NBC-TV, July 20, Noon EDT

[ALMS] LMP2 Win AT Long Beach

The victory was the first for the upstart Patrón Highcroft Racing team in the ALMS and the second for Acura since the manufacturer's entry in the road racing series in 2007.

David Brabham made a spectacular pass of Romain Dumas entering Turn Eight on the 70th lap of the Tequila Patrón American Le Mans Series feature Saturday to win the highly-competitive LMP2 class on the famed streets of Long Beach.

Brabham took over the No. 9 Patrón Highcroft Acura ARX-01b prototype sports car from his teammate, Scott Sharp, on the 46th lap and charged from fifth position to the lead on the next-to-last lap in a sensational wheel-to-wheel battle with Dumas in the Penske Porsche. The win follows Patrón High- croft Racing's best previous finish of second at St. Petersburg two weeks ago.

Tequila Patrón ALMS Race

1. PATRÓN HIGHCROFT ACURA ARX-01b No. 9
2. Penske Porsche No. 7
3. Penske Porsche No. 6
4. ANDRETTI GREEN ACURA ARX-01b No. 26
6. LOWE'S FERNANDEZ ACURA ARX-01b No. 15

UPCOMING ALMS RACE:

Event: Miller Utah Grand Prix
Track: Miller Motorsports Park, Tooele, Utah (3.08 miles)
Date: Sunday, May 18, 2008, 1 p.m. (MDT)
Distance: 2 hours, 45 minutes
TV: SPEED, May 18, 3 p.m. EDT

Click here for more details

ALMS LMP2 Second Place

The new driver duo of David Brabham and Scott Sharp combined efforts Saturday to drive the Patrón Highcroft Acura ARX-01b to the team's best American Le Mans Series career finish with a second place in the LMP2 class in the Acura Sports Car Challenge.

With a fourth at Sebring and a second at St. Petersburg, the Patrón Highcroft Acura team has moved to second in the LMP2 point standings, with the next ALMS race set for April 19 at Long Beach.

Acura Sports Car Challenge Results

1. Penske Porsche No. 7
2. PATRÓN HIGHCROFT ACURA ARX-01b No. 9
3. Penske Porsche No. 6
4. Dyson Porsche No. 16
5. ANDRETTI GREEN ACURA ARX-01b No. 26
7. LOWE'S FERNANDEZ ACURA ARX-01b No. 15

Click here for the details.

Honda Performance Development (HPD) Rundown

Honda figures prominently in both the ALMS and the IRL. The Acura LMP2 cars debutted this year and are currently running second in the manufacturer standings to the Porsche RS Spyders. In line with Acura's place as a sport luxury brand, they decided it was worthwhile to compete in the more technological and competitive ALMS against the likes of Audi, Porsche and all the brands in the GT classes. The new ALMS V-8 was designed completely in-house at HPD with no outsiders involved. The Acura engine is also the first Honda race engine completely designed outside of Japan, with all the work having been done in California.



The Highcroft team has focused on chassis development while the Fernandez team with the proven Lola chassis has been the primary engine development team. Andretti-Green gets all the benefits of the other two. The result of all this work was that the Acura won the LMP2 class at the Sebring opener and has run competitively all year long.



For 2008, Acura is planning a major revision of the Acura chassis targeted at further performance improvements and more importantly the serviceability of the car. The current car is difficult to repair during a race and that needs to be improved, especially for longer races.

Over on the IRL side, Honda is currently the sole supplier of engines since Toyota and GM dropped out at the end of the 2005 season. One aspect of the lack of competition is that Honda doesn't have to stress their engines to the limit. In spite of the cars being as fast as ever, they haven't had a single in-race engine failure in 2007. The current engine is a 3.5L V-8 that runs on 100 percent ethanol.

[Source] Autoblog.com

"...the guys at Acura never stop."

If he hadn't been asked to grade its performance on a scale of 1 to 10, Bryan Herta likely would have given Acura a 12. Maybe it would have been a 13 or higher. Herta, the lead driver for Andretti Green Racing's first season in the American Le Mans Series with Acura. "I'd give us (the race team) a six or seven out of 10. Although we won Sebring, which was great, and we've been competitive and run up front every weekend, I don't think we've gotten the best result possible on every weekend that we've been out there. That's what we have to improve on if we want to get serious about the championship."

"There is still ongoing development. I know the engine will be getting better because the guys at Acura never stop. We're working on our setup and understanding the car, working with Michelin to get figure out how to get the best out of our tires.

The next round of the American Le Mans Series is the Utah Grand Prix, set for 5:05 p.m. MT on Saturday, May 19 from Miller Motorsports Park near Salt Lake City. It will air live on XM Satellite Radio's Sports Nation channel. CBS Sports will air the race at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 20. MotorsTV in Europe, SPEED Latin America and 7TV in Russia also will provide international coverage. American Le Mans Radio and IMSA's Live Timing and Scoring will be available at americanlemans.com.

For the full read.

Acura's American Le Mans Race Cars

Acura is competing in the Le Mans Prototype (LMP2) class for the 2007 American Le Mans Series (ALMS). The LMP2 class involves roof-less, closed-wheel race cars with low, wide aerodynamic body design. The LMP2 class is generally considered "the most sophisticated racing vehicles in the world this side of Formula 1." The engines in this class are limited to 8 cylinders and a maximum displacement of 3.4 liters for naturally aspirated engines. For engines that are supercharged or turboed, their limited displacement is 2.0 liters. LMP2 vehicles must weight a minimum of 1652 lbs. Although, the LMP2 class cars have an extra second seat, it is not typically used.



Acura is not currently competing in the LMP1 class. In the LMP1 class, vehicles must weight at least 1950 lbs and have no limit on the numbers of cylinders. However, there is a limitation on displacement, which is 6 liters.



Acura is giving each of the teams a special development focus. Lowe's Fernandez Racing's (LFR) is the team with greatest emphasis on ongoing engine development, they're running a 3.4 liter, naturally aspirated V8 in a Lola B05/40 chassis. Andretti Green Racing (AGR), the team with the most win in Indy Racing League history, and Highcraft Racing (HR) both also have V8 in a newly developed ARX-01a chassis. HR's focus will be in chassis development, while AGR will focus on overall long-term strategy.


Andretti Green Racing XM Satellite Radio Acura



Highcraft Racing



Lowe's Fernandez Racing

Honda Performance Development (HPD) in Santa Clara, California, played a big role in Acura's LMP2 vehicles. The V8 was the first pure racing engine completely designed and developed in-house by HPD. Initially, they also planned to use the new engine in a pre-existing chassis, the Courage LC75, however so much modifications were required that Acura designed and developed a whole new chassis. "This marks HPD's first effort beyond engine development into comprehensive race-car design."

Hopefully, Acura will bring that V8 technology over to the Acura RL. There has been a lot of criticism about Acura lacking anything bigger than a V6 in their lineup. Many people have also criticize Acura for not having rear-wheel drive as an option for their cars.

[Source] Acura.com - ALMS

Click here to see all ALMS articles.

ALMS St. Petersburg Results

[Video] 2007 ALMS (Sebring) Pre-Race Interview

Great interview with technical group leader for Acura motorsports at the 2007 12 hours of Sebring. Topics included number of horsepower the engine produces, which class to race in, angle of the V8 engine, and more. The pre-race interview was conducted before Acura's debut into the American Le Mans Series.



The debut was a great success for Acura because they finished 1st, 2nd, and 4th in their class, crashing Porsche, and kept up with the upper-class Audi basically the whole race.

[Video Source] Vtec.net

[Video] Acura ALMS LMP2 Lola First Test

Acura Victory In American Le Mans Series

The three new Acura American Le Mans Series teams made a spectacular debut Saturday by taking the first, second and fourth positions in the LMP2 class at the 55th annual Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring. The Andretti Green Racing (AGR) team finished second overall to the factory Audi LMP1, racing on the lead lap against the more powerful German manufacturer before gearbox woes slowed the Acura ARX-01a driven by Herta in the final hour. Until the final hour, the AGR Acura machine (LMP2) challenged the more-powerful Audi in the upper-class (LMP1) lap for lap, before the late race gearbox problem slowed Herta in the final hour. The Fernandez team placed third overall, just two laps shy of the AGR team.



The victory was special for the staff of Honda Performance Development. The winning machine was designed and developed, in partnership with chassis specialist Wirth Research, at the HPD headquarters in Santa Clarita, Calif. It marked the first time an HPD-designed engine and car had competed in a U.S. racing event. The LMP2 race was set up to be a battle between the factory Porsches from Penske Racing and the three Acura factory cars. But early brake trouble for the Porsches proved to be German marque's demise. The Acura finish was one of the most impressive debuts ever seen in the 55-year history of the famed Sebring International Raceway and set the stage for the reminder of the 12-race American Le Mans Series.



The next Acura event is Saturday, March 31, on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., the three-hour Acura Sports Car Challenge.

[Source] AcuraNews.com

Although, it doesn't feature any Acuras, here's a clip from the 12 Hours of Sebring (2007):

American Le Mans Series: Let's Race!

Acura is making their American Le Mans Series debut at the 55th running of the Mobil One 12 Hours of Sebring sports car classic set to take place on March 17. Acura will be tackling the legendary 12 Hours of Sebring with 3 new Acura American Le Mans Series LMP2 sports car teams - Andretti Green Racing, Lowe's Fernandez Racing and Highcroft Racing. The Acura factory prototype cars will be powered by a 3.4-liter V-8 Acura ALMS engine, the first racing power plant completely designed and developed by Honda Performance Development (HPD) of Santa Clarita, Calif.



LUIS DIAZ (Co-driver of the No. 15 Lowe's Fernandez Racing Acura Lola) said:

"We are on a learning curve right now with the Acura program. This is the best race car I have ever driven and the Acura program is exciting for me. The team just keeps making the car better and better. It is a professional process that the Acura people have put together. I know we will be successful."

Mobil 1 12 Hours Of Sebring

Date: March 14-17, 2007
Location: Sebring, Fla., International Raceway
Track Type: 3.7-Mile Road Course, 17 Turns
Race: Round 1 of 12 Races, 10 a.m. American Le Mans Series
Distance: 12 Hours
Television: SPEED Channel, Live, 10 a.m.-11 p.m.

2007 Upcoming ALMS Races

March 17 Sebring, Florida
March 31 St. Petersburg, Florida
April 14 Long Beach, California
April 21 Houston, Texas
May 20 Salt Lake City, Utah

[Source]