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Castroneves, Cameron Qualify 1-2 for Acura at Mid-Ohio

  • Helio Castroneves and Dane Cameron lock out front row in prototype qualifying
  • Second consecutive WeatherTech SportsCar Championship pole for Acura Team Penske
  • Katherine Legge leads Acura NSX GT3 effort with fourth-place qualifying run

After a thrilling intra-team battle, Helio Castroneves took his Acura ARX-05 prototype to the pole in qualifying today for Sunday's Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio, edging teammate Dane Cameron by just fifteen hundredths of a second on his final qualifying lap. Katherine Legge, driving the Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3, led the way for the manufacturer in GTD qualifying and will start fourth on Sunday.

Acura Team Penske Prototype Acura Team Penske's Castroneves and Cameron battled for pole honors throughout the 15-minute prototype qualifying session. With just minutes remaining, Cameron appeared to have the best lap in the #6 Acura ARX-05 he will share with Juan Pablo Montoya on Sunday, posting a time of 1:11.984 around the rolling 2.258-mile Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. 

But as he took the checkers, Castroneves jumped his teammate with a time of 1:11.837, to claim his first pole in the #7 ARX-05 he co-drives with Ricky Taylor. It's the second consecutive pole for Acura in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition this year, with Montoya having taken qualifying honors at the Grand Prix of Long Beach in April.

Meyer Shank Racing GTD In GTD, Katherine Legge paced Acura effort, taking her NSX GT3 to fourth in the 15-minute session for that category in a tight qualifying battle among the top six competitors.  Legge will start tomorrow's two hour, 40-minute race in the #86 MSR Acura before handing off to co-driver Alvaro Parente.

In the second MSR entry, Justin Marks will start the #93 NSX GT3 he shares with Lawson Aschenbach from sixth in the competitive, 14-car GTD field.

Quotes Helio Castroneves (driver, #7 Acura Team Penske ARX-05) pole qualifier, second consecutive pole for new Acura ARX-05 prototype: "I was pushing, obviously, trying to make things happen. It was a perfect example of 'not leaving anything in the bag'. I have to say [teammate] Dane [Cameron] did an awesome job, he made me push even harder. It was a great team effort. I'm really excited about an all Acura Team Penske front row, and even happier about being on the pole."

Katherine Legge (driver, #86 Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3) qualified fourth in GTD: "Qualifying went pretty well. I think we legitimately should have been third, but we got blocked out there and shuffled back to fourth. We have a really great car and I'm excited to see what kind of result we can get tomorrow, especially if it rains."

Where to watch Live television coverage from Mid-Ohio begins at 1 p.m. EDT Sunday on the Fox Sports 2 Network. The entire race also will be streamed live on Fox Sports GO, with FS1 authentication.

Fans can listen in to audio commentary via IMSA.comRadioLeMans.com and Sirius XM Radio; and follow the race live via in-car cameras, IMSA Radio and timing & scoring available worldwide on IMSA.com and the IMSA mobile device App.

Video recaps from this weekend's Acura Motorsports activities at Mid-Ohio are being posted on the "Honda Racing/HPD" YouTube channel. Produced by the Carolinas Production Group, the video packages can be found in the 2018 HPD Trackside Video Playlist at: https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV.

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio Circuit:       Mid-Ohio SportsCar Course (2.258-mile road course) Lexington, Ohio Weather:     Sunny, mild, 68 degrees F

Top-6 Prototype Qualifying Results:

Ps. Class Drivers     Team        Chassis    Time/Notes
1. Prototype Dane Cameron/Juan Pablo Montoya  Acura Team Penske Acura ARX-05

1:11.837

2. Prototype Helio Castroneves / Ricky Taylor Acura Team Penske Acura ARX-05 +0.147 seconds
3. Prototype Oliver Jarvis/Tristan Nunez Mazda Team Joest Mazda       RT24-P +0.502 seconds
4. Prototype Jonathan Bomarito / Harry Tincknell Mazda Team Joest Mazda       RT24-P +0.759 seconds
5. Prototype Renger Van Der Zande/Jordan Taylor Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac DPi VR +0.763 seconds
6. Prototype Joao Barbosa / Filipe Albuquerque Action Express           Cadillac DPi VR +1.106 seconds

Top-6 GTD Qualifying Results:

Ps.             Class Drivers     Team        Chassis Time/Notes
1. GTD Jack Hawksworth / David H. Hansson 3 GT Racing Lexus RC F GT3 1:19.317
2. GTD          Kyle Marcelli / Dominik Baumann 3 GT Racing               Lexus RC F GT3 +0.053 seconds
3. GTD          Madison Snow / Bryan Sellers   Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracan +0.512 seconds
4. GTD          Katherine Legge / Alvaro Parente Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 +0.051 seconds
5. GTD          Dillon Machavern / Bill Auberlen Turner Motorsports BMW M6 GT3           +0.406 seconds
6. GTD          Justin Marks / Lawson Aschenbach Meyer Shank Racing                 Acura NSX GT3        +0.138 seconds

 

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