Penske Racing

Team Penske IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Race Report - Road America

August 4, 2019

Track:                  Road America
Race:                   IMSA Road Race Showcase
Date:                   August 4, 2019
 

No. 6 Acura ARX-05 DPi – Dane Cameron/Juan Pablo Montoya

Start: 1st
Overall Finish: 2nd
Class Finish: 2nd
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 83/83
Points: 1st (239 pts)
 
Recap:

  • Dane Cameron and Juan Pablo Montoya continued their streak of podium finishes with a second-place finish in the IMSA Road Race Showcase at Road America on Sunday afternoon. The duo has now finished in the top three in six consecutive races dating back to the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach in April.
  • The No. 6 Acura ARX-05 duo was strong all weekend with the quickest practice times leading up to Cameron qualifying on the pole for the team's third pole position of the year.
  • An early driver change to Montoya dropped the No. 6 Acura to second in the running order behind their teammates in the No. 7 Acura, but both drivers were able to keep the Prototype at the front of the field throughout the duration of the two hour and 40-minute event.
  • Running behind the eventual race-winning Mazda late in the race, Cameron was able to chop down the gap to the leader who had trouble navigating traffic. With two laps to go the Mazda ran wide in Turn 5, giving Cameron an opportunity to make a pass before a timely block was thrown to keep the leader out front.
  • The finish allows the No. 6 Acura team to remain the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship points leader by seven markers with two races remaining.
  • The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Series will next visit WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on Sunday, September 15.

 
Quote:
"Another good points day for Acura Team Penske and another podium finish. It's hard to be too disappointed with that. It was pretty hard work today, but everyone at Acura Team Penske and HPD is doing a fantastic job. Our car is awesome right now. All things being equal, maybe we can get back to winning a few more of these races. But for now, big picture-wise, obviously we gained a few more points towards the championship and that's really what it's all about."
Dane Cameron
 
 
No. 7 Acura ARX-05 DPi – Helio Castroneves/Ricky Taylor

Start: 2nd
Overall Finish: 7th
Class Finish: 7th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 83/83
Points: 3rd (-17)
 
Recap

  • Helio Castroneves and Ricky Taylor had an uncharacteristic day in Sunday's IMSA Road Race Showcase at Road America after running over a piece of debris during the middle portion of the race resulted in a loss of track position and a seventh-place finish.
  • Castroneves qualified the No. 7 Acura ARX-05 in the second position on Saturday afternoon, narrowly missing out on knocking his teammate, Dane Cameron, off the pole position with a strong final lap of the session.
  • After jumping the No. 6 Acura during the first round of pit stops, Castroneves took command of the race and led the field until giving way to co-driver Ricky Taylor just prior to the one-hour mark of the two hour and 40-minute event.
  • Unfortunately, Taylor ran over an unavoidable piece of debris shortly after taking the reins of the No. 7 Acura, resulting in damage to the front wing and requiring him to make an unscheduled pit stop.
  • The pit stop dropped Taylor back to the eighth position, but once the necessary repairs were made to the Acura, he radioed that the handling was much improved. Much to the chagrin of the No. 7 team, however, the race featured no caution periods the rest of the way to allow Taylor to make up the lost ground.
  • The seventh-place result moved the No. 7 Acura team into a tie for third in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship points, 17 points behind their teammates with the next race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on Sunday, September 15.

 
Quote:  
"I'm really just disappointed for all the guys on the No. 7 Acura ARX-05 team because we had a great car today. It was just a case of bad luck in running over that debris because there was not much I could do to avoid it. We had a good pit cycle when we made our driver change and I thought we were in position to race our teammates and the Mazdas for the win, but we will regroup and get ready for Laguna Seca where I think our Acuras will be strong once again."
Ricky Taylor

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