Acura MSR Goes Out Fighting at Challenging Petit Le Mans

Braselton, Ga. (Oct. 3, 2026) – Acura Meyer Shank Racing (Acura MSR) put on a commanding performance through the opening four hours of Saturday’s Motul Petit Le Mans, with both cars leading the way through changing weather and strategy at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. The 10-hour season finale marked the final event for the Acura MSR GTP program before its pause following the 2026 season. With the final checkered flag, the program secured second in the team championship and third in both the drivers’ and manufacturers’ championships.

After locking out the front row in qualifying, Tom Blomqvist led the 54-car field to green in the No. 60 Acura ARX-06, with Nick Yelloly alongside in the No. 93. With the race declared wet, both cars started on Michelin wet-weather tires before quickly switching to slicks as the track dried.

The two Acura MSR entries controlled much of the opening four hours, with the No. 93 of Yelloly and Renger van der Zande and the No. 60 of Blomqvist and Colin Braun trading positions at the head of the GTP field as pit strategy and a series of full-course cautions shuffled the running order.

Weather again became a factor with less than seven hours remaining as rain returned to Road Atlanta. Both Acuras switched back to wet-weather tires, putting Braun in position to charge from fifth to the lead on the ensuing restart, while van der Zande moved from eighth to fourth before advancing to second. The race was red flagged shortly afterward due to lightning in the area.

Following the resumption, contact between the two Acura MSR entries resulted in a drive-through penalty for the No. 93. The race became more complicated for the No. 93 after Alex Palou was hit from behind shortly after taking over the car, requiring an additional stop for repairs. Yelloly later returned to the car, but an incident in Turn 12 with less than three hours remaining caused significant damage and ended their race. Yelloly was evaluated and released from the infield care center, with the No. 93 ultimately classified 10th in GTP.

The No. 60 continued to fight through its own setbacks. Scott Dixon took over midway through the race and battled to remain on the lead lap while the team worked through a fuel-connector issue. Blomqvist returned to the car for the closing stint, and a two-tire stop under caution with less than two hours remaining vaulted him from sixth to second.

With a record-setting 15 full-course cautions throughout the race, Acura MSR gambled on strategy through the closing stages in hopes of positioning Blomqvist for a final run at the podium. The No. 60 climbed back to third with just over 30 minutes remaining, but was running short on energy. A final caution with 19 minutes remaining gave Blomqvist a chance to stretch the remaining energy to the finish, and he restarted third with 10 minutes to go.

Blomqvist held the final podium position through the white flag, but the No. 60 ran out of energy on the final lap and was forced to pit for a splash of fuel. The late stop dropped the No. 60 to sixth at the checkered flag, bringing an eventful final race for the Acura MSR GTP program to a close.

Meyer Shank Racing will now enjoy some time off as it prepares for the 2027 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season.

Acura Meyer Shank Racing Driver Quotes:

Mike Shank (Team Owner): "Huge effort from the team today. The first half of the race, we dominated. But then everything kind of spiraled, unfortunately. Then we had to do a bunch of things to try and get Tom positioned back in contention, and we almost did it. We needed a miracle, and we got two-thirds of a miracle. But I'm really proud of how everyone called strategy, actually. It was a really difficult call to do what we did there to try and get track position. We were one lap away from the podium. Love everybody here on this team. And I thank everybody that's followed us here in IMSA. And onward we go."

Driver Quotes:

Tom Blomqvist (No. 60): “Tough day and I guess it's the story of my year, really, starting at the front and not finishing near the front. It's sad and bittersweet ending like this, but I can't thank the guys enough for the last few years. This season hasn't been our year, but we've had a lot of good moments. Over the last five years with Acura, HRC, and MSR, it's been fantastic. I've enjoyed it a lot and obviously right now I wish we could have done something more for everyone. So, yeah, big thanks to the whole crew for the support over the years."

Colin Braun (No. 60): "Not the finish we wanted, but we fought hard all day. I felt like we were in pretty good control of the race the first bit with both cars, so it's disappointing. We qualified on the front row and then controlled a lot of the front side of the race, but it just kind of did not fall our way from a lot of different sides towards the end. But all in all, super proud of everybody. And what a great program. Super cool to be a part of it all. Obviously, wish we could have finished stronger, but I don't think it was from a lack of effort from everybody."

Nick Yelloly (No. 93): “Unfortunately finished P10 here today. I bottomed out and crashed the car through the last corner. Unfortunately didn't have anywhere to run off, so I hit the wall. But all in all, great couple of seasons with the boys and girls here at HRC and MSR. Really, really enjoyed it and I'll miss every single one of our crew.The shining light on it all is we finished second in the team's championship and third overall in the drivers' championship. So, we just showed the progression that we have been able to make over the two years, and it's just been a great pleasure to be a part of. Not the finish we wanted, but we've had some great results through the past two years, and we can be very proud of that."

Renger van der Zande (No. 93): "It's quite a bitter end and we gave it our all. But we got hit from behind with Alex in the car and we got hit from behind by with Nick in the car. And then at the end there was a big smack into the wall for Nick and I'm happy he's safe. It's an end of a program and I'm really proud of what we achieved in these two years. Would have liked to finish off with a win here because the car was very fast, but it is what it is."

Media Contacts:

Liza Markle
liza@meyershankracing.com

Maddie McGinity
maddie@meyershankracing.com