GT3 / 16 November 2020

Triple title success for NSX GT3 Evo in IMSA

Mario Farnbacher, Matt McMurry and Meyer Shank Racing rounded out an astonishing year of success for the NSX GT3 Evo in North America with a triple title in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship.

A third-place finish for Farnbacher, McMurry and endurance driver Shinya Michimi at the season-ending Sebring 12 Hours in Florida ensured the result.

Michimi qualified eighth; he and McMurry combining to hand over to Farnbacher in third place ahead of the half-distance mark.

Farnbacher survived being spun around at Turn 1 by another car early in his stint and a combination of strong driving and slick pitwork by the MSR crew allowed him to bring the car home in a championship-winning third place.

For Farnbacher - also a member of Honda’s JAS-run Intercontinental GT Challenge line-up - his title was a second in as many years, while McMurry became champion in his first year with the team.

MSR - for whom this was the last race with the NSX GT3 Evo - made it back-to-back Teams’ crowns while Acura scored their first Manufacturers’ title in the GTD division.

NSX GT3 Evos have now won an astonishing seven major titles on the continent in 2020 after Racers Edge Motorsport dominated GT World Challenge America.

The sister MSR car, competing under the Heinricher Racing banner, built on a podium finish last time out with a sixth-place finish to end the season.

With regular driver Alvaro Parente unavailable, Joey Hand joined Misha Goikhberg and endurance driver Trent Hindman; Goikhberg qualifying in 12th place and all three drivers staying clear of the various moments of mayhem that occurred at the airfield track.

The flawless run netted Goikhberg - the only member of the line-up to have contested every IMSA race this year - seventh spot in the Drivers’ Championship.

Both cars were competing as part of the NSX GT3 Customer Racing Programme; a global collaborative project with JAS Motorsport responsible for assembly of all cars.
 
Honda Performance Development (HPD) and M-TEC handle sales and technical support in North America and Japan respectively, with JAS responsible for these areas across the rest of the world.