- Ricky Taylor puts Wayne Taylor Racing Acura on the second row at Belle Isle
- Meyer Shank Racing ARX-05 will start on the third row
- Jeff Kingsley to start seventh in Acura NSX GT3 Evo for Compass Racing
Ricky Taylor had a quick lap in his sights as time was running down in IMSA DPi qualifying for Saturday's IMSA Sports Car Classic at Belle Isle, but a red flag brought out by a competitor's spin forced the Rolex 24-winning Konica Minolta Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05 to settle for fourth place on tomorrow's starting grid.
Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque will start on the outside of the second row in their #10 Acura while the #60 Sirius XM Meyer Shank Racing Acura prototype of Olivier Pla and Dane Cameron will grid directly behind them for tomorrow's 100-minute WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race.
In the production-based GTD category, Jeff Kingsley qualified the #76 Compass Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo seventh, while his teammate Mario Farnbacher led the separate session for Pro drivers to score maximum championship points. In the #66 Gradient Racing Acura, Till Bechtolscheimer will start 8th before handing off to co-driver Marc Miller.
IMSA Sports Car Classic At Belle Isle Acura Qualifying Results
- 4th overall - #10 Ricky Taylor & Filipe Albuquerque, Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05 DPi
- 6th overall - #60 Olivier Pla & Dane Cameron, Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05 DPi
- 7th GTD - #76 Mario Farnbacher & Jeff Kingsley, Compass Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo
- 8th GTD - #66 Mark Miller & Till Bechtolscheimer, Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo
Quotes
Ricky Taylor (#10 Wayne Taylor Racing ARX-05) qualified 4th: "Our guys have done a really good job evolving the car throughout the weekend. We did a good job at closing the gap for qualifying, but we need to take another step for the race. Who knows what can happen tomorrow, with the IndyCar rubber on the track from their race, which is right before ours. That could throw a whole other curveball at us. We'll just go with a flow, and hopefully we can adapt [to Saturday's track conditions] better. We have the first pit stall, so that's a positive as far as how we race. This year is all about execution and that's where we have all the faith in our Konica Minolta guys."
Mario Farnbacher (#76 Compass Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo) led Pro GTD qualifying: "I love this track ever since I started coming here in 2014. I have a great history here. Acura gave us a great car today, it felt really good all the way around the track. The Compass Racing guys did a very good job getting it ready and I am looking forward to tomorrow. I am very happy to see the fans back, especially after running alone a lot last year, so thanks to everyone that came out."
Fast Facts
- Acura Motorsports has recorded four previous victories on the streets of Belle Isle Park, including the 2019 event, won by Dane Cameron and Juan Pablo Montoya aboard their Acura ARX-05 prototype; consecutive GTD triumphs for the Acura NSX GT3 in 2017-18; and another overall win for the Acura ARX-01b prototype in 2008.
- In the most recent IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race in Detroit, Cameron and Montoya won from the pole en route to a 2019 series championship sweep for Acura, the drivers, and Acura Team Penske. The race was not held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Based in Austin, Texas, Gradient Racing returns for a second year of IMSA Sprint Cup competition with the #66 Unit Nutrition Acura NSX GT3 Evo for drivers Marc Miller and Till Bechtolscheimer. The duo finished eighth in their 2021 debut last month at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Already a successful Acura team in SRO World Challenge America competition, Compass Racing now also fields an NSX GT3 Evo in IMSA for drivers Jeff Kingsley and two-time defending series champion Mario Farnbacher. The pair combined for a fifth-place result at their Mid-Ohio debut last month.
- Acura and Honda Performance Development – the North America racing arm of Honda Racing and Acura Motorsports – come to the Detroit Grand Prix seeking to continue a run of major race wins. Acura has won two of the first three IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship events of 2021, including the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January and the Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio in May.
Where to Watch
- Race day television coverage from Detroit begins at 5 p.m. EDT Saturday on the NBC Sports Network. Complete, flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available on the NBC Gold Track Pass and the NBC Sports App.
- Fans can listen to audio commentary via IMSA.com, RadioLeMans.com and XM Radio channel 392; 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.
- Acura Motorsports social media content and video links from the Detroit Grand Prix can be found on Instagram (www.instagram.com/hondaracing_hpd), Twitter (twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD). Additional features and long-form videos can be found on the Honda Racing/HPD YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV).
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