Acura Set for Factory IMSA GTP Exit at End of Year

Photo: Brandon Badroui/IMSA

Acura is poised to depart the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, amid developments that the luxury automaker will either be reducing or eliminating its GTP program altogether.

Multiple paddock sources have indicated to Sportscar365 that the Japanese brand is expected to at least axe its full factory involvement in the series at the end of this season.

Its GTP drivers are understood to have been informed of the internal decision made several weeks ago, with engineers within Honda Racing Corporation USA reportedly already having been re-assigned to other projects.

It’s understood that an official announcement could come as early as next week.

The pair of Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06 cars are competing in this weekend’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, seeking the brand’s first overall win in the event since 2009.

In a statement provided to Sportscar365, Acura and Honda Motorsports’ U.S. manager Chuck Schifsky said: “Acura and HRC US are focused on the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season where we continue to campaign two Acura ARX-06 GTP entries with Meyer Shank Racing.

“Any speculation regarding plans beyond the 2026 season is premature. The 2027 Acura Motorsports plans are being finalized and we will share more information with you at a later date.”

The prospects of its ORECA-chassied LMDh cars continuing in the WeatherTech Championship, in a customer effort, is understood to be an option that remains on the table.

It’s known that WeatherTech Championship LMP2 competitor Inter Europol Competition had been exploring to run ARX-06s in the FIA World Endurance Championship next year, in a deal that failed to materialize, at least in the world championship.

The Polish squad, however, is still known to be pursuing a top-class prototype effort, either in IMSA or the WEC, with discussions with drivers having occurred during last weekend’s European Le Mans Series round in Barcelona.

Acura has been a mainstay in the WeatherTech Championship since 2018 when it debuted the ARX-05 DPi car with Team Penske, which delivered back-to-back titles in 2019-20, before the program was split up between single-car entries from Wayne Taylor Racing and MSR.

A third title for the automaker was won in 2022 by MSR, in the final year of the DPi era.

MSR then took over full operation of its ARX-06 GTP program in 2025, with HRC US taking an increased role through the engineering and running of the No. 93 Acura.

The brand’s previous stint in IMSA competition came in the 2007-09 American Le Mans Series in both LMP2 and LMP1 competition before the program shifted into a customer-led HPD efforts for a number of years, culminating with Honda-powered engines in LMP2 machinery.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John