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.