Yelloly “Riding the Wave” into Watkins Glen With Acura MSR

Photo: Brandon Badraoui/IMSA

Nick Yelloly said he’s hoping to “keep riding the wave” of success into this weekend’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, following his breakthrough first victory with Acura Meyer Shank Racing in Detroit, which was followed up by LMP2 class honors in last weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Yelloly teamed with Renger van der Zande to win the Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic three weeks ago in their No. 93 Acura ARX-06 before heading to France to join Tom Dillmann and Kuba Smiechowski with Inter Europol Competition to win in his Le Mans debut in the LMP2 ranks.

When asked what his goal is this weekend, back with Acura MSR, Yelloly told Sportscar365:  “Keep riding the wave at the momen.

He added: “Obviously Detroit went well. We were fastest the whole race week.

“We need to make sure we’re clean and concise with all our strategic choices.

“Free Practice 1 this morning went pretty well. The car felt good getting back to driving a GTP car instead of a LMP2 a little bit after doing a trillion laps around Le Mans.

“The group is getting better and better each time we go out. I think we’re working together more and more seamlessly.

“I’m just really looking forward to getting going. I love racing and this circuit I think does suit the Acura. The high speed flowing circuits seem to do that.

“I’m looking forward to get going.”

Yelloly said the dramatic class win in Le Mans, where he bounced back from a late-race drive-through penalty, came as a significant achievement in his racing career.

“I think you win any race, it doesn’t matter what it is, then it’s always going to keep that momentum going,” he said.

“To win Le Mans the first time out and add that to a couple of other 24-hour races that I already have under my belt is great.

“It just keeps the focus moving forward and the morale high for this weekend.”

Yelloly and van der Zande achieved the recent Detroit win with factory engineers from HRC US, many of them new to the roles, as part of the manufacturer’s new approach to the No. 93 entry this year.

“It’s quite a different dynamic because some of the guys actually haven’t done much racing at all,” said Yelloly.

“Usually when you go into a team, the engineer is way more experienced then yourself. But in our instances, I’ve done nine, ten more years of racing than some of the engineers we’ve got.

“Although they’re massively bright and very, very capable. Some of the racing instinct, particularly at the start, I wouldn’t say it was missing but it wasn’t like second nature.

“Now it’s becoming more and more second nature, which is great to see.

“They’re a great bunch of guys and girls and they’ve been working their asses off since November and now I think it’s starting to come together a bit better.”

Three-Driver Lineup Could Pay Dividends on Sunday

With weather forecasts predicting 90-plus degree Fahrenheit temperatures on Sunday, Yelloly believes its three-driver lineup in the No. 93 Acrua could play to their beneift.

The Englishman and van der Zande are joined by HRC factory driver Kaku Ohta, who will be making his second start in the Acura ARX-06 after his debut in January’s Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Only the No. 93 Acura and No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R are utilizing three-driver squads in GTP.

“From my weather forecast, it’s going to be really, really hot on Sunday,” said Yelloly. “It could give us a bit of a rest in between when Kaku is in the car.

“He did a great job [Friday] morning, very fast and clean and good through traffic.

“I think ourselves and the 31 [car] have three [drivers]. It will be interesting to see how that plays out. But I don’t think it’s a disadvantage.

“If it is really, really hot, you tend to have to try and do a triple stint with one guy. I did the triple stint here last year when it was much cooler, and I wouldn’t say it was super physical, but if it’s really hot, then it could be tough.”

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