Legge, Monk Set for Full Season Effort in Gradient Acura

Photos: Gradient Racing

Katherine Legge and Sheena Monk will form an all-female full-time driver lineup in Gradient Racing’s Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship this year.

Confirmed on Tuesday, it will mark the Texas-based team’s first full season in the GTD class, fielding the JG Wentworth-backed Acura.

The pair will be joined at the Rolex 24 at Daytona by Honda Performance Development factory driver Mario Farnbacher and longtime Gradient driver Marc Miller.

Monk graduates to the WeatherTech Championship after several seasons of competing in Michelin Pilot Challenge competition.

“My plans for 2023 were rather uncertain, which makes this feel like even more of a whirlwind,” she said.

“I randomly reached out to Katherine to discuss something unrelated – ideas started floating around and things began falling into place.

“JG Wentworth’s continued support, combined with Gradient’s commitment to furthering my development, has allowed me to reach my goal of IMSA WeatherTech competition, where I will proudly drive the HPD Acura NSX GT3 Evo22.”

Legge, meanwhile, will return to the wheel of an Acura for the first time since 2019 following a three-year stint with Meyer Shank Racing with the first-generation Acura NSX GT3.

She was most recently part of Hardpoint’s GTD effort with a Porsche 911 GT3 R.

“I’m so excited to be back in the Acura family, my transition to GT racing came in the Acura NSX GT3 and I have some of my fondest memories from those years,” Legge said.

“I was involved in the platform’s development and I’m proud of what we achieved with HPD, especially giving the car its first global win at Detroit in 2017.

“I’m really looking forward to jumping back in the car at Daytona in the most competitive field ever.

“Sheena is one of the most promising young talents coming into IMSA and with Mario Farnbacher and Marc Miller we have a lot of experience and fight to win. I couldn’t be more enthusiastic to get this season started.”

The team, which contested the Michelin Endurance Cup races last year as well as the Grand Prix of Long Beach, is coming off class victory in last year’s season-ending Motul Petit Le Mans.

“This team is coming into 2023 with a great mix of new talent and old friends; we are ready to pick up where we left off in Atlanta,” said team principal Andris Laivins.

“Sheena has been steadily making a name for herself in IMSA, and we are very proud to join her as she steps up to GTD with JG Wentworth.

“I hope we can reward their commitment to Sheena on the biggest stage in sports car racing.

“Katherine and Mario have years of experience in the NSX at the factory level, and Marc has been developing this car at Gradient since day one, so our lineup at Daytona is really something special.

“The team’s energy is high, we have an incredible pit crew, and the momentum that comes from our big win at Petit Le Mans last October. I can’t wait to get this season started.”

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