- Filipe Albuquerque puts the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05 on the front row, second, in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship qualifying
- WTR and drivers move into championship points lead following qualifying run
- #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura lines up third for Sunday’s race
Wayne Taylor Racing’s Filipe Albuquerque led the charge for Acura in today’s qualifying from Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, qualifying the #10 Konica Minolta Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05 second on the grid for Sunday’s race.
Albuquerque and co-driver Ricky Taylor—winners the last time out in Laguna Seca—also qualified second in last year’s Mid-Ohio event; and combined to drive their Acura to victory lane. The pair also broke a tie, moving into the championship lead with points for their qualifying effort.
The #10 Acura will line up just ahead of the Meyer Shank Racing #60 ARX-05, which qualified third in the hands of Oliver Jarvis at the team’s home race. MSR’s Pataskala, OH facility is located approximately 50 miles from Mid-Ohio. Jarvis will partner Tom Blomqvist in the MSR car’s effort to claim their second victory of the year, following a win at the Rolex 24 at Daytona to kick off the season in January.
In the production-based GTD class, the #51 Rick Ware Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 qualified ninth in the hands of Aidan Read, who will share driving duties tomorrow with IMSA veteran and former Touring Car champion Ryan Eversley.
IMSA Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio Acura Qualifying Results
- 2nd overall - #10 Filipe Albuquerque, Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05 DPi
- 3rd overall - #60 Tom Blomqvist, Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05 DPi
- 9th GTD - #51 Aidan Read, Rick Ware Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22
Quotes
Filipe Albuquerque (#10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05) Qualified 2nd: “We are doing everything we did last year, when we won! We started from P2 and we won the race, so I like our statistics! I felt like I really did the best lap I’ve ever done in the car, so it really turned out well. We have two hours and forty minutes tomorrow to prove that we’re pretty good. We’re going to use our crew, with the pit stops and our strategy, we’re going to give it everything we have. And then, at the end, we’re going to put the rocket, Ricky Taylor, in to get us a win!”
Oliver Jarvis (#60 Meyer Shank Racing ARX-05) Qualified 3rd: “The car was really good and I think we had more there, which honestly is a bit frustrating. There was some rain at the start of the session, so we were all in a rush to get a time in because we didn’t know how many laps we’d get. So that used our tires a bit more than we would normally, and when I was able to get some clean laps later in the session, we had missed the window for the best lap. I am not sure if starting from third or second will be better, but hopefully we can just get a good start and move forward tomorrow.”
Fast Facts
- Acura Motorsports and its performance arm, Honda Performance Development, have recorded 10 victories at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, second in the overall “success rate” for the manufacturer in North American sports car racing. Only WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, where Acura has won 17 times, ranks higher.
- Acura is undefeated at Mid-Ohio since returning to prototype competition in 2018. Last year, Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque scored a thrilling victory in their Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05, combining fuel mileage with speed to hold off the competition by just 1.7 seconds at the checkers.
- Helio Castroneves and Ricky Taylor won for Acura Team Penske in 2018 and 2020; teammates Dane Cameron and Juan Pablo Montoya won for Acura in 2019.
- American Honda operates a dozen corporate, manufacturing and R&D facilities in central Ohio, all within a short drive of Mid-Ohio and employing more than 10,000 associates. Many are expected to be on hand this weekend, as Acura teams and drivers seek to extend their string of success in DPi, and add another “double win” with a class victory in the production-based GTD category in the Acura NSX GT3 Evo22.
Where to Watch Sunday’s IMSA Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio
Television coverage from Mid-Ohio begins at 2 p.m. ET Sunday with complete, flag-to-flag coverage on USA Network, with live streaming on NBC Peacock.
Fans can listen to audio commentary via IMSA.com, RadioLeMans.com and Sirius XM Radio; 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 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course 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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