Acura DPi Completes First U.S. Test

The Acura ARX-05 completed two days of successful testing this week at Road Atlanta, as Team Penske began an intensive development program for the new prototype in advance of the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.

Juan Pablo Montoya, one of two drivers already announced for the effort, was at the wheel of the Acura throughout the two-day test.

The outing was the first for the new prototype following an initial shakedown run last month at the Paul Ricard circuit in France, and follows its official unveiling at Monterey Car Week.

“Overall, it was a good test,” said Matthew Niles, senior engineer and project leader for Honda Performance Development.

“We were close to the area of total solar eclipse [on Monday], so we had to stop running for a bit as the sun was dimmed. We went on to complete all of our run plan, and feel we have a good base to build on going forward.”  

This week’s initial run was the first of a series of tests, to be conducted at a variety of circuits, planned by Team Penske and Honda Performance Development.

The competition debut of the Team Penske Acura prototypes will take place at the season-opening Rolex 24 in January.

In addition to Montoya, reigning IMSA prototype champion Dane Cameron will also be part of the 2018 lineup, with remaining drivers to be announced.