MSR to End Acura NSX GT3 Evo Program

Photo: Mike Levitt/IMSA

Meyer Shank Racing will not return to the GT Daytona class with Acura NSX GT3 Evos next year, although team co-owner Mike Shank has made a public offering to assist any customer teams that will be taking on the package in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

The Ohio-based squad was confirmed alongside Wayne Taylor Racing on Wednesday as the new operators of Acura’s ARX-05 DPi cars, which will see the defending GTD champions return to top-class prototype racing after four years in the production-based ranks.

MSR currently leads this year’s GTD standings with drivers Mario Farnbacher and Matt McMurry and also fields a second entry —  under the Heinricher Racing banner — for Alvaro Parente and Misha Goikhberg.

“Although we won’t be running an NSX next year, we have so much data and history,” said Shank. “All of the people, crew-wise, are going to go from the NSX program to the prototype are all in-house here.

“We are a phone call, text or email away and we’ll help them.

“I think that’s hard to find. It’s a no-bull answer to a setup question at Lime Rock. We could help from [our data] two years ago.

“That’s what we’ve always said and our commitment was to HPD, that we’d help teams when they came along.

“Gradient has taken advantage of that now.

“The answer is MSR won’t be running an NSX. But the answer is also that MSR will support NSX clients if they ask.”

HPD President Ted Klaus added that its level of GT3 customer support goes “way and above” of what any other manufacturers provides in GTD.

In addition to WeatherTech Sprint Cup entrant Gradient Racing, HPD also supports Racers Edge Motorsports, which is currently competing in GT World Challenge America powered by AWS.

“We strongly support all of our customers,” said Klaus. “We are doing that today with Gradient Racing in the Sprint Cup and Meyer Shank.

“[Customer teams] have an opportunity to get championship-caliber cars, championship-caliber setups and support. It’s there for the taking.

“We are transiting that to a true customer program as MSR steps up to go to DPi.

“We give these customer teams essentially semi-factory support. Meyer Shank is going to share with them things they’ve known for well over five years.”

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