GT3 / 02 July 2018

NSX GT3 on the podium again at Watkins Glen

Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian took their NSX GT3 to a fifth podium finish in as many races to close to within one point of the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship lead.

After starting fourth on the GTD grid at Watkins Glen, USA, Katherine Legge and Alvaro Parente ran inside the top three for most of the six-hour race and; after some sensational close-quarter racing, missed out on a second straight series win by just 1.295 seconds.

The result did not just leave MSR a point away from the Teams' Championship lead; it also elevated British racer Legge to within a point of the Drivers' standings and kept Acura second in the Manufacturers' title race.

Parente, who missed the previous round, is fourth overall, but retains second with Legge in the Tequila Patron North American Endurance Championship; for which only the Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen and Petit Le Mans events count.

The sister car of Justin Marks and Lawson Aschenbach qualified fifth and had made its way into the lead by the two-hour mark.

Unfortunately, Marks sustained damage when a prototype did not leave sufficient space while lapping him, and the car had to be retired.

Ryan Eversley qualified the Honda America Racing Team (HART) NSX 12th and took over the car in the third hour after Tom Dyer and Chad Gilsinger had maintained the position.

Sadly the car was unable to finish; dropping out of the race while Eversley was at the wheel.

Like HART, CJ Wilson Racing returned to action at Watkins Glen due to the race forming part of the NAEC. Till Bechtolsheimer and Marc Miller started 17th and finished in a season's-best 11th after a trouble-free run.

Modulo Drago Corse delivered one of their most competitive performances of the season as Japan's premier sportscar series, Super GT, moved on to Buriram, Thailand.

Ryo Michigami and Hiroki Otsu judged the weather conditions perfectly in a tricky wet-dry qualifying session to put their NSX GT3 eighth on the grid - their best starting spot of the year.

Having dropped to 10th at the start, the duo set competitive laptimes throughout the two-hour race and finished ninth.

All four cars were competing as part of the NSX GT3 Customer Racing Programme; a global collaborative project with JAS Motorsport responsible for assembly of all cars.

Honda Performance Development (HPD) and M-TEC handle sales and technical support in North America and Japan respectively, with JAS responsible for these areas across the rest of the world.

Stefano Fini, JAS Motorsport NSX GT3 Project Leader: "Last month we were delighted to see the Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian take the NSX GT3 to victory on the street circuit in Detroit. Now, at Watkins Glen, a traditional circuit from the 1960s with totally different characteristics, they've come just a second from victory in a six-hour race with Katherine and Alvaro. That shows what a versatile car the NSX GT3 is. If Justin and Lawson hadn't had the unfortunate incident with the prototype while leading, maybe the result would have been even better, but their speed shows that they will certainly be competitive in the upcoming races. It was great to see the HART and CJ Wilson Racing teams on-track and I look forward to seeing what they can do when they return at Petit Le Mans."