- Ricky Taylor claims pole in qualifying for the season-ending IMSA endurance contest
- Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evos seeks GTD championship repeat
- Stage set for Saturday championship showdowns in DPi and GTD
Ricky Taylor claimed the second WeatherTech SportsCar Championship pole of 2020 Friday at Sebring International Raceway as Acura and Team Penske seek second consecutive IMSA titles; while Shinya Michimi qualified his Acura NSX GT3 Evo in eighth as Meyer Shank Racing seeks to repeat as GTD champions. Both championships will be decided in Saturday’s season-ending 12-hour endurance race.
Acura Team Penske
Taylor took his #7 ARX-05 to the pole, his second of 2020 and the seventh for Acura Team Penske, edging primary championship rival Renger van der Zande’s Cadillac in a hard-fought 15-minute session.
Taylor and full-season teammate Helio Castroneves come to Sebring with a two-point lead in the DPi Drivers’ Championship over the Wayne Taylor Racing duo of van der Zande and teammate Ryan Briscoe. Acura trails Cadillac by just a single point in the Manufacturers’ Championship contest, so the higher-finishing marque will win the title.
Taylor and Castroneves will share the driving duties in the #7 Acura ARX-05 with former Indianpolis 500 champion Alexander Rossi tomorrow; while teammate Dane Cameron qualified third in the #6 Acura he will share with Juan Pablo Montoya and another former Indy winner, Simon Pagenaud.
Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3
The GTD class championship-leading #86 Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT-3 Evo qualified eighth with Shinya Michimi at the wheel. MSR is seeking their second consecutive championship with full-season driver Mario Farnbacher and their first with Matt McMurry.
Currently, the pair holds a seven-point advantage in the GTD Drivers’ title chase, while Acura holds a two-point advantage over Lexus and three points over Porsche in the Manufacturers’ Championship battle.
The #57 Heinricher Racing with MSR Curb-Agajanian Acura NSX GT3 Evo will roll off 12th on the grid with Misha Goikhberg, 2019 GTD champion Trent Hindman and 2012 Sebring winner Joey Hand – filling in for regular driver Alvaro Parente this weekend.
Where to Watch
Television coverage from Sebring begins at 10 a.m.-3 p.m. ET Saturday on the NBC Sports Network. Network coverage on NBC takes over from 3-6 p.m. ET and coverage concludes on the NBC Sports Network from 6-10:30 p.m. ET. Complete, flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available on the NBC Sports App and NBCSN Gold with NBCSN Trackpass authentication.
Quote
Ricky Taylor (#7 Acura Team Penske ARX-05) pole qualifier, Taylor’s second pole of 2020, seventh for Acura Team Penske, championship points leader heading into tomorrow’s final race of the season: “It’s such an amazing way to end the championship. If you’re a fan, you want it to come down to the last race. Basically, whoever wins the race wins the championship. I don’t think you could’ve scripted it any better. To be racing [for the championship] against the #10 car [Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac, a team owned by his father], is really weird, but also fun. I wouldn’t rather be racing against anyone else.”
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