Acura Named Title Sponsor of IMSA race at Mid-Ohio

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is proud to announce that Acura will be the title sponsor of Round Four of the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) WeatherTech Sports Car Championship, May 4-6, 2018.

Highlighted by the Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio on Sunday, May 6, a full weekend of world-class sports car racing returns to the 2.258-mile, 13-turn permanent road course in Lexington, Ohio, for the first time since 2013. The race will feature many of the cars and drivers from this year’s Daytona 24 Hours and Sebring 12 Hours events. It also marks the renewal of a partnership for the track with the Acura brand. Acura sponsored the sports car events from 2007 to 2009 when the former American Le Mans Series raced at Mid-Ohio.

“This feels very much like a homecoming for the Acura brand," said Jon Ikeda, Acura vice president and general manager. “Our sponsorship of American Le Mans Series racing at Mid-Ohio goes back a decade, and our corporate relationship with the race track spans a full quarter century.

“Combine all of that tradition with the fact that our own sports supercar – the Acura NSX – is now manufactured roughly an hour from the race track, at the Performance Manufacturing Center in Marysville, and this partnership becomes the proverbial ‘no-brainer’. Mid-Ohio fans are passionate about their sports car racing. It is, after all, the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. We are delighted to be such a significant part of bringing sports car racing back to its storied roots."

In addition to the headline race being titled the Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio, Acura will have a strong brand presence on site with trackside banners, billboard and bridge signage, a hospitality suite in the Mid-Ohio Tower, and additional race tickets to entertain guests.

“We’re thrilled to have Acura back as we relaunch a dedicated weekend of world-class professional sports car racing next month. Our fans have eagerly awaited the addition of IMSA to our schedule," said Craig Rust, president of Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. “Having Acura on board makes it an extra special opening race weekend. The Acura NSX is proudly made in Ohio, and fans will get to see it compete on track during the Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio."

Acura has a strong presence in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with multiple car entries from Acura Team Penske and Michael Shank Racing campaigning the Acura ARX-05 DPI in the Prototype class and Acura NSX GT3 in the GT Daytona (GTD) class, respectively.

In addition to the Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio featuring the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the other series on the schedule rounding out an action-packed sports car weekend include the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, Lamborghini Super Trofeo and Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA.