- Oliver Jarvis and Tom Blomqvist combine to make a single pit stop strategy pay dividends for Acura and Meyer Shank Racing with a second-place result at the Detroit Grand Prix.
- Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque bring their Wayne Taylor Racing Acura home fifth on the Belle Isle Park temporary street circuit
- Ryan Eversley and Aidan Read finish 9th in GTD in their Acura NSX GT3 Evo22
One of only three teams to successfully complete a one-stop pit strategy on the Belle Isle Park temporary street circuit, the Meyer Shank Racing duo of Oliver Jarvis and Tom Blomqvist led the way for Acura in Saturday's IMSA Grand Prix of Detroit, finishing second overall in the caution-free, one-hour, 40-minute contest.
The result moves MSR, Jarvis and Blomqvist to the top of the IMSA driver and team championship standings ahead of fellow Acura drivers Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque, who made two stops in today's race to finish fifth in their Wayne Taylor Racing ARX-05 prototype.
After six of 10 races, Meyer Shank Racing, Blomqvist and Jarvis move to the top of the teams and drivers' championships, respectively, with an unofficial total of 2,027 points; with Wayne Taylor racing and drivers Albuquerque and Taylor in second, 10-points back in second.
Acura NSX GT3 Evo22
In the production-based GTD class, the #51 Rick Ware Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 driven by Aidan Read and Ryan Eversley started fifth and ran there in the hands of starting driver Read through the only round of scheduled pit stops. But a refueling issue cost the team time in pit lane, dropping Eversley to seventh, until the final lap, when a fuel pressure issue dropped the #51 Acura to 9th in GTD.
IMSA Detroit Grand Prix Acura Race Results
- 2nd overall - #60 Tom Blomqvist and Oliver Jarvis, Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05 DPi
- 5th overall - #10 Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque, Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05 DPi
- 9th GTD - #51 Aidan Read and Ryan Eversely, Rick Ware Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22
DPi Drivers' Championship (unofficial, after 6 of 10 rounds)
- Tom Blomqvist, Oliver Jarvis; Meyer Shank Racing 2027
- Filipe Albuquerque, Ricky Taylor; Wayne Taylor Racing 2017
- Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn; Chip Ganassi Racing 1931
- Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande, Chip Ganassi Racing 1884
- Tristan Vautier, Richard Westbrook; JDC Miller Motorsports 1868
Quotes
Oliver Jarvis (#60 Meyer Shank Racing ARX-05) Finished second: "To come away with a second-place finish on a street course is great for us. Huge thanks to Acura, HPD and Meyer Shank Racing. My co-driver Tom [Blomqvist] did a pretty savvy job in the opening stint. This was a tough race, but we made our [single pit stop] strategy pay off and scored some important championship points today. We have some good tracks for us [Watkins Glen and Road America] coming up and we're really looking forward to them."
Tom Blomqvist (#60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05) Finished second: "It was a good day. I was really happy with the car, Acura and the team did an awesome job. I managed to maintain my [second-place] position at the start. It got super stressful at times with traffic and the walls, but Olly [Jarvis, co-driver] did a fantastic job holding off those guys [competitors on a two-stop strategy] and I'm just super happy, and confident going ahead to the next couple of rounds."
Kelvin Fu (Vice President, Honda Performance Development) on today's second-place finish for Acura in Detroit: "It was an incredibly tight race, and I think Tom [Blomqvist] and Olly [Jarvis] did a fantastic job, especially Ollie who had to deal with a lot of pressure from competitors in the final laps in addition to hitting his fuel number and making the one-stop strategy used by Meyer Shank Racing work. All in all, it was a good result for Acura today; and we're hopeful for even better results on our Honda Indy car side on Sunday."
Fast Facts
- In 2021, HPD became the first engine firm to win both the Rolex 24 at Daytona overall and the Indianapolis 500 in same calendar year. The company repeated that feat in 2022, with Meyer Shank Racing leading a 1-2 finish for Acura at Daytona and Marcus Ericsson scoring Honda's third consecutive victory – and 15th win – at the Indianapolis 500 last weekend.
- In January's season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona, Acura dominated the twice-around- the-clock contest, with Meyer Shank Racing and defending race winner Wayne Taylor Racing scoring a 1-2 finish in their Acura ARX-05 prototypes.
- The win was the second consecutive Rolex 24 victory for Acura and the ARX-05 prototype, and the first 1-2 finish at Daytona for the manufacturer. For the Meyer Shank team, the win was their second Rolex 24 triumph, and 10 years to the weekend after their first Rolex win at the 50th running of the event in 2012.
- Acura scored another pair of 1-2 results in May, with Wayne Taylor Racing taking the victory with drivers Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course; with Blomqvist and Jarvis finishing second for MSR at both events.
Next
The fabled road course in Watkins Glen, New York is the next stop in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, for the Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen, the third of four endurance races on the 2022 schedule.
Acura Motorsports social media content and video links from Detroit 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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