24 Hours of Daytona – 3 Series with an unfinished business flavor for Acura

Here is the small surprise of the GTP category: two Acuras from Wayne Taylor Racing and the Andretti team did not manage to get on the first two lines this Sunday during ROAR, and will have to settle for 5th (n ° 40) and 6th Position (n° 10) at the start of the 24 Hours of Daytona on Saturday. Ironically, Acura had dominated the event last year, with the debut of its ARX-06 and LMDh in Endurance. The Japanese manufacturer, owned by Honda, had replaced the pole and double with its new mount, at the time run by Meyer Shank Racing and WTRAndretti.

In 2024, the two ARX-06 did not show themselves to their advantage: it was dominated by three other manufacturers in the qualifying exercise (Cadillac 1st and 2nd, Porsche 3rd and BMW 4th), Acura and WTRAndretti did very well. For Louis Delétraz, there is no need to worry after qualifying. “We really attacked a lot. The car was good in qualifying. We have struggled a bit since the first test, but the team has done a great job to keep improving the carkept the Swiss driver of the No. 40 Acura, fifth on the grid. I think we’ve got a good racing window, and that’s the important thing. Qualifying is fun, but the important thing next week is the 24-hour race. »

Acura and WTRAndretti are not worried

Same story for Filipe Albuquerque: The Portuguese is looking to boost his confidence a week before the start of the 24 Hours of Daytona, and believes Acura has enough race pace to secure a fourth straight win on Florida soil. “We start 6th for the race, more than enough for the 24-hour circuithe insists. We are still working on the balance of the car, which was really good. There isn’t much left in the car. Louis did a great job (qualifying fifth), so we’re happy with what we accomplished. Obviously we will continue to work on improving the car for this week’s race. »

Acura remains with three consecutive victories at the 24 Hours of Daytona – two with the ARX-05 (2021-2022), one with the ARX-06 (2023) – while the WTRAndretti team has been waiting for a victory since 2021.

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