- Katherine Legge qualifies her Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 third in GTD for season-opening IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race
- Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti's pair of Acura ARX-06 GTP machines qualify fifth and sixth in first race for rebranded HRC US
- Acura seeking a fourth-consecutive Rolex 24 victory and third 1-2 finish
The quest has begun for Acura's fourth-consecutive Rolex 24 at Daytona victory, with Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti qualifying their pair of Acura ARX-06 GTP machines fifth and sixth on the grid for the twice-round-the-clock endure and the debut of the rebranded Honda Racing Corporation USA.
Louis Deletraz qualified fifth aboard the #40 ARX-06 in the first qualifying effort for the newly-added second car at WTRAndretti, with the sister #10 car of Filipe Albuquerque slotting in right alongside in sixth.
The #40 will be piloted by Deletraz, Jordan Taylor, Colton Herta and Jenson Button. While Albuquerque will be sharing driving duties with Ricky Taylor, Brendon Hartley and Marcus Ericsson.
Albuquerque and Taylor combined to win the 2021 event, kicking off a string of three Rolex victories in a row for Acura.
In the production-based GTD category, Katherine Legge kicked off the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season with a third place effort in qualifying in the #66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22.
Legge and co-driver Sheena Monk came close to victory in last year's race, before a pit lane fueling issue dashed their hopes in the closing stages of the race. The duo will go for it again this year, joined by Tatiana Calderon and Stevan McAleer for this year's Rolex 24.
Rolex 24 Qualifying Results
- Qualified 5th overall - #40 Louis Deletraz, Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06. Co-drivers for the Rolex 24 are Jordan Taylor, Colton Herta and Jenson Button.
- Qualified 6th overall - #10 Ricky Taylor, Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06. Co-drivers will be Filipe Albuquerque, Marcus Ericsson and Brendon Hartley.
- Qualified 3rd in GTD - #66 Katherine Legge, Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22. Co-drivers will be Sheena Monk, Tatiana Calderon and Stevan McAleer.
Fast Facts
- Acura returns to Daytona International Speedway and the IMSA season-opening Rolex 24 as three-time defending race winners. In the debut of the hybrid GTP era, Meyer Shank Racing led a 1-2 result for Acura last year. The electrified #60 Acura ARX-06 of Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun, Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud claimed the overall honors for the second year in a row; ahead of the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing's Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque, Louis Deletraz and Brendon Hartley.
- In 2022, Meyer Shank Racing also won then final race of the Daytona Prototype Interntional (DPi) era with the Acura ARX-05; with Blomqvist, Oliver Jarvis, Castroneves and Pagenaud sharing the driving duties.
- The Wayne Taylor Racing lineup of Filipe Albuquerque, Ricky Taylor, Helio Castroneves and Alexander Rossi claimed the win in 2021's twice-around-the-clock contest, 20 years after Acura's first Daytona class win in 1991.
- This will be Acura's 10th Rolex 24 as a prototype manufacturer (1991-93, 2018-24). In addition to the overall wins in 2021, 2022 and 2023 – and in 2016 under the HPD/Honda banner – Acura won the Camel Lights class at Daytona in 1991 and again in 1992.
Where to Watch the Rolex 24 at Daytona
- Television coverage of the 62nd Rolex 24 at Daytona starts Saturday, January 27, at 1:30 p.m. EST for the opening hour on NBC. Coverage continues on the USA Network from 2:30-8 p.m. Saturday, 10 p.m.-12 a.m., and 6 a.m.-12 p.m. Sunday. Coverage concludes with the final hours of the race on NBC from 12-2 p.m. Sunday. Live flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available on the NBC Peacock streaming service.
- Acura IMSA social media content and video links can be found on:
Instagram (www.instagram.com/hondaracing_us)
TikTok (www.tiktok.com/hondaracing_us)
Threads (www.twitter.com/hondaracing_us)
Facebook (www.facebook.com/HondaRacingUS)
YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingUS)
Quotes
Louis Deletraz (#40 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06) Qualified fifth for the Rolex 24: "We definitely pushed hard. The car felt good in qualifying. We've been struggling slightly from the first test, but the team's done a great job to keep improving the car. I think we've got it in a good window now for the race, and in the end that's what matters. Qualifying is neat, but what matters next week is the 24-hour race."
Filipe Albuquerque (#10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06) Qualified sixth: "We're starting P6 for the big race [Rolex 24 at Daytona]. That's more than [good] enough for the 24-hours. We're still working on the balance of the car, which was pretty good, there's really not much left in the car. Obviously. Louis [Deletraz, teammate in the #40 Acura] did a good job [qualifying fifth], so we're happy with what we accomplished. Obviously, we're going to continue working to improve the car for the race this week."
Katherine Legge (#66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22) Qualified third in GTD: "Third I think was good. For a second there I thought we had a shot at the [GTD] pole. I think the conditions today certainly favored our Acura NSX, with it being cooler. So we tried to capitalize on that and get the JG Wentworth car up at the front of the field. I think we're in a good position to have a strong run next weekend."
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