Despite their efforts, the team couldn’t secure a spot in the top three in any of the six sessions and qualifying rounds of either of its two entries.
The No. 10 Acura ARX-06 of the team, with Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque, Brendon Hartley, and Marcus Ericsson at the helm, managed to reach the fourth position from a pool of 10 in the GTP class during two of the sessions.
This was quite an achievement for Acura, who has previously won the event thrice. They kicked off their winning streak with WTR and Andretti in 2021, and Meyer Shank Racing led the charge in the last two years. WTR also bagged the race three other times in 2017, 2019, and 2020, with Cadillac giving them the push.
A noteworthy mention is the team’s No. 40. It’s the same car that MSR after edging out a victory in last year’s Petit Le Mans, marking the organization’s last race in IMSA for now. This car excelled by qualifying fifth (1m33.100s around the 3.56-mile road course), driven by Jordan Taylor, Louis Deletraz, Colton Herta, and Jenson Button. On the other hand, the sibling No.10 landed in the sixth position (1m33.347s).
Deletraz stated, “We undoubtedly exerted maximum effort.”
“The car was in good shape during the qualifying round. We’ve been grappling a bit since the initial test, but the team has done an incredible job in amping up the car’s performance.
“I believe we’ve steered it into a favorable window for the race. Undoubtedly, qualifying is crucial, but what truly counts is the 24-hour race next week.”
Meanwhile, Albuquerque was content with the trial run and hinted that the car has nearly reached its peak performance.
“We’re at P6 at the outset of the big race,” Albuquerque said.
“That presents a more than satisfactory starting point for the 24-hours. We’re still tinkering with the car’s balance, which has been commendable. There really isn’t much left to extract from the car.
“Undeniably, Louis did splendidly (by qualifying fifth), so we’re delighted with our achievement. Naturally, our focus remains on further perfecting the car for this week’s race.”
