Pataskala, Ohio (13 October 2020) – After a strong fifth-place finish at the Charlotte ROVAL last weekend, the No. 57 Heinricher Racing with Meyer Shank Racing team is ready to fight for a win at the 23rd annual Motul Petit Le Mans this Saturday (12:30pm ET, NBCSN).
Trent Hindman will return with Heinricher Racing drivers Alvaro Parente and Misha Goikhberg for the third endurance event of the season. Sitting seventh in the overall IMSA GTD championship, the trio will look to continue their move up the championship ladder.
Parente, Goikhberg and Hindman fought to a seventh-place finish in the six-hour race at Road Atlanta just last month, despite driving over half of the race without a hood. The team will rely heavily on that recent track knowledge in preparation for this weekend’s 10-hour endurance event.
Hindman clinched the 2019 IMSA championship at Road Atlanta last year and is eager to compete for a podium result this weekend.
“Coming back to Road Atlanta for the second time this year is certainly confidence inspiring, especially when we consider the fact that our sister No. 86 Acura won here only about a month ago,” said Hindman. “The Acura NSXs have also shown a lot of speed in the last two IMSA rounds, and I’m looking forward to taking advantage of that with Misha, Alvaro, and our No. 57 team for 10 hours this Saturday.”
Parente will be making his third race start at Road Atlanta. Parente’s first Motul Petit Le Mans with Meyer Shank Racing in 2018 saw him capture a second-place finish with teammates Katherine Legge and Trent Hindman.
“We’re lucky to have a lot of data that we can rely on since we just raced at Road Atlanta not too long ago,” said Parente. “We should be able to get the car just right for the weekend. The main focus will be on consistency and a mistake-free race.”
The focus will be the same for Goikhberg heading into the 10-hour race this weekend, and he is confident in the pace the Acura has shown at the 2.54-mile track.
“I’m looking forward to going back to Road Atlanta,” said Goikhberg. “We had a bit of a tough race there last month but the pace was strong and I know that we can get a better result this weekend. We will also have Trent back in the car with us. Together, we hope to be battling at the front for podium positions.”
The Motul Petit Le Mans will will air with rotating coverage between NBCSN and TRACKPASS on the NBC Sports Gold app. The green flag waves at 12:30pm ET on Saturday, October 17th.