Acura MSR Captures Second Place in Six-Hour Battle at The Glen

Watkins Glen, NY (June 28, 2026)  – Acura Meyer Shank Racing (Acura MSR) returned to Watkins Glen International (WGI) with high hopes and came away with a runner-up finish for the No. 93 Acura ARX-06, though the team experienced mixed fortunes in the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen.

Starting from second and fourth respectively, Tom Blomqvist and Renger van der Zande quickly established the Acura MSR entries near the front of the field. Van der Zande moved into third early and remained there through the opening pit sequence alongside Blomqvist in second.

Only 40 minutes into the race, a full course yellow triggered the first round of pit stops. Colin Braun jumped in the No. 60 ARX-06 and while navigating the class pass-around at the top of the Esses, he was hit from behind by a fellow GTP competitor. The damage was extensive and the car was forced to retire.

Running in the top two for much of the first half, the No. 93 remained the leader's closest challenger until green flag running and GT traffic caused the Acura to slip back a few positions. Van der Zande handled the opening two-plus hours before handing over to endurance driver Kaku Ohta for the middle stint.

The No. 93 made its final driver change with 90 minutes remaining as Nick Yelloly climbed aboard for the closing stint. A timely full course yellow shortly after Ohta entered pit lane allowed the Acura to regain track position and lead the field with just over an hour to go.

With 51 minutes remaining, Yelloly brought the No. 93 to pit lane from the race lead, but the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac gambled on a short-fill stop and emerged ahead in the running order.

Despite pushing throughout the closing stint, Yelloly was unable to match the leader's pace during a green-flag run to the finish. The runner-up result earned valuable points for the No. 93 Acura MSR entry, and they moved to second in the Championship standings.

The WGI event was Round 6 of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and a part of the Michelin Endurance Cup. The next race for the GTP class is the Sportscar Endurance Grand Prix at Road America on Aug. 2. The Wisconsinvenue has been a regular on the IMSA calendar, but will be a six-hour race for the first time.

Driver Quotes:

Renger van der Zande (No. 93): “P2 today and I think it’s a good result, obviously. We would have loved to win in Watkins Glen, but the 31 was strong and congrats to them. We had a good car and we got lucky with that pit stop and then the yellow. It’s great to be on the podium and get some good points. Onward to Road America.”

Kakunoshin Ohta (No. 93): “Finally got my first podium in IMSA! It took quite a long time; I’ve been looking forward to this since I first joined this team at Daytona in 2025. I'm so happy with the result, but it’s also a bit a shame that we couldn't win the race. We had a chance, but the leader was just rapid. We executed perfectly and we gave it everything. I really enjoyed the race and I’m thrilled to be able to bring this IMSA trophy back to Japan. Big thank you to everyone at HRC US and Acura MSR for all of their hard work this weekend, it feels great to be able to give them a good result. And thank you to Honda for giving me this opportunity to race in such a great championship.”

Nick Yelloly (No. 93): “I think we maximized everything we could there, that's for sure. Finishing P2 is what we could do and needed to do. We executed very well in the pits all day. The boys and girls at Acura Meyer Shank Racing were fantastic and HRC provided us with the best car in the business. We performed and delivered all we could today. We just need to keep grinding, keep being consistent, and we will see where we end up at the end of the season."

Colin Braun (No. 60): “Unfortunate situation with the No. 23 Aston Martin. After I got in for my stint, we had to come back into the pits for a splash and then I was amongst the GT cars during the class split. At the top of the hill, all of the cars were basically really slow and stopped. Luckily our spotter, Steve, did a good job and told me they were checking up. So I slowed way down and just got hit from behind by the Aston. I feel bad for him too because I'm sure he didn't know they were stopped if he didn't have any spotter help. And yeah, our car basically got destroyed from behind and also got pushed into the guys ahead of me. Very disappointing.

Media Contacts:

Liza Markle: 
Liza@meyershankracing.com

Maddie McGinity:
Maddie@meyershankracing.com