Acura Confirms Driver Lineup for IMSA, PWC Programs
Andy Lally, Katherine Legge, Ozz Negri and Jeff Segal will be part of Michael Shank Racing’s two-car GT Daytona program, with Ryan Eversley and Peter Kox named drivers for RealTime Racing’s effort in PWC.
The announcement came Tuesday at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas.
“It was an arduous selection process, but we’re extraordinarily pleased with the dynamic and experienced driver lineup which will launch our 2017 Acura Motorsports program with the new NSX GT3," said Art St. Cyr, president of Honda Performance Development.
“We believe we’ve assembled a group of drivers who have the skill and experience to take the Acura NSX GT3 to Victory Circle, and who will proudly represent the performance DNA of the Acura brand for our many fans."
Shank’s IMSA lineup features three current Silver-rated drivers in Negri, Legge and Segal, who are joined by Gold-rated Lally, who ends his tenure with Magnus Racing.
Driver combinations have yet to be announced, as it’s believed the team is waiting on the confirmation of 2017 driver ratings, which should come by the middle of the month.
Acura NSX GT3 development driver Kox, meanwhile, steps up to a full-time race seat alongside the returning Eversley in PWC.
The Dutchman made his team and series debut at the Sonoma Raceway round in September, in RealTime’s Acura TLX GT, which has since been retired from competition.
The new mid-engined GT3 contender will make its race debut in January’s Rolex 24 at Daytona with Shank’s two-car entry, with extensive testing planned in the build up to the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener. John Dagys/Sportscar365