Michael Shank Racing Delivers First IMSA Pole for Acura NSX GT3 at the Glen

Watkins Glen, N.Y. (1 July 2017) – Michael Shank Racing with Curb/Agajanian delivered the first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship pole for the Acura NSX GT3 on Saturday during qualifying for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen in the team’s 20^th start in the historic race.

Andy Lally, who is a three-time winner of the Sahlen’s 6 Hour, wheeled the No. 93 Acura NSX GT3 to a fast lap time of 1:46.051-seconds to claim the pole position for the Ohio-based squad.

The pole result comes after Michael Shank Racing delivered the first victory for the Acura NSX GT3 in the previous IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship round at Detroit.

The sister No. 86 Acura NSX GT3 of Jeff Segal and Ozz Negri will start the six-hour endurance classic from the outside of the second row after Segal posted a fast lap of 1:46.816-seconds to lock in fourth on the grid.

The qualifying session continued the positive momentum the Michael Shank Racing team has seen through the entire Glen event after the No. 93 led the first two practice sessions of the weekend.

“It’s all a testament to these guys at Michael Shank Racing, Acura and HPD,” said Lally, who set his fastest time on the final lap of the qualifying run. “I don’t get a chance to qualify too much so this is great. Watkins Glen is my favorite track and my home track. When you put one of those crazy laps together you’re breathing so hard! I have to thank Continental Tire – we beat the heck out of those tires!”

Segal was looking for a bit more time in the final laps of qualifying, but a red flag ended the session early.

“The car was good, but we’re just missing a little bit,” said Segal of the run. “But we have good confidence after that lap, I know where there is a bit more time and it’s nice to have a strong car like the 93 as our teammates to be able to understand where they found their little extra bit. The team is doing a great job, the cars are both running really well. We have great momentum from the last race at Detroit, so we’re looking to make sure the race tomorrow is strong as well. Six hours is an endurance race but it’s a sprint race, we’re going to be flat out the entire time.”

Team Owner Mike Shank was thrilled with the team’s performance.

“It’s the first time ever for the Acura NSX GT3 to get the pole, so it means everything,” offered Shank. “To qualify first and fourth really shows the dedication from everyone at HPD, Acura, and everybody at Michael Shank Racing. We’re all working together and pushing in the same direction. We definitely found something in the break after COTA. Detroit was great and then we tested at VIR, and we’re finding things that help this car’s balance a lot and it’s showing up now. I’m super proud of Andy (Lally) and Jeff (Segal) – they both did great laps. We’ll have a great race tomorrow. We’re looking forward to it.”

The Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen goes green at 10:10 AM ET on Sunday with LIVE coverage on FS1 beginning at 10:00 AM ET.