Pataskala, Ohio (19 August 2019) – With just three races left in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season, Trent Hindman and Mario Farnbacher are looking froward to the next outing at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) for the Michelin GT Challenge (August 25th, 1:35pm ET NBCSN).
Entering the weekend with a 26-point lead in the IMSA championship, Hindman and Farnbacher have set their full focus on taking the No. 86 AutoNation Acura NSX GT3 to victory lane ahead of this weekend.
The team has an extensive history of competition at the track, with 17 VIR race outings dating back to 2004 in prototype competition. The Ohio-based team scored two podium finishes in 2009 and 2018 and are aiming to capture its first victory at the 3.27-mile track this weekend.
Farnbacher is coming into the VIR race weekend with two podium finishes in five years, one of which was in 2018 with MSR, co-driving with Katherine Legge.
“VIR is a cool track and since they added the new tarmac it is way more fun,” said Farnbacher. “I also think that the Acura NSX Evo update will help a lot there in terms of the balance of the car. I know that the team had a good test at VIR a couple of weeks ago and I’m really looking forward to continuing our championship fight with just three races to go.”
Hindman’s record at VIR beams with success having competed in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, Lamborghini Super Trofeo and GT4 America series at the track – scoring four pole positions, three race victories and six podiums. But this weekend’s race will be the first in IMSA WeatherTech competition for the young talent.
“There is quite a lot of confidence in what we have with the Acura NSX GT3 Evo heading to VIR,” said Hindman. “Mario and Katherine (Legge) were able to bring the No. 86 Acura home on the podium at last year’s event and obviously finding ourselves on the podium once again is our goal. We are in a good championship position thanks to the efforts of Mike (Shank), Mario and the entire MSR team and we have to be smart and do our best to protect that.”
The Michelin GT Challenge weekend will start off with two practice sessions on Friday, Qualifying on Saturday and the two hour and 40-minute race set for Sunday, August 25th at 1:35pm ET on NBCSN.