Front Row Qualifying Sweep for Acura at Watkins Glen 27.06.2021: Ricky Taylor, Wayne Taylor Racing takes pole for Acura Dane Cameron to start on the outside of the front row in his Meyer Shank Racing ARX-05 John Potter, Andy Lally to start 11th in their Acura NSX

    Ricky Taylor, Wayne Taylor Racing takes pole for Acura

    Dane Cameron to start on the outside of the front row in his Meyer Shank Racing ARX-05

    John Potter, Andy Lally to start 11th in their Acura NSX GT3 Evo




Acura drivers swept the front row in qualifying today at Watkins Glen International Raceway in preparation for Sunday's Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship endurance race.



Defending IMSA series champion and Rolex 24 winner Ricky Taylor scored his first pole of the 2021 season for Wayne Taylor Racing, edging fellow Acura pilot Dane Cameron by just 0.119 second in his Meyer Shank Racing ARX-05 prototype.



In the production-based GTD category, John Potter qualifying his Magnus with Archangel Acura NSX GT3 Evo 11th; and will share driving duties tomorrow with Andy Lally and Spencer Pumpelly.




Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen Qualifying Results

    1st overall - #10 Ricky Taylor, Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05 DPi

    2nd overall - #60 Dane Cameron, Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05 DPi

    11th GTD - #44 John Potter, Magnus with Archangel Acura NSX GT3 Evo




Quotes



Ricky Taylor (#10 Wayne Taylor Racing ARX-05) pole qualifier; race co-drivers will be Filipe Albuquerque and Alexander Rossi: "The Acura is a fantastic car here at Watkins Glen. Coming here, we knew we'd be strong and we were really looking forward to it.


 This chassis and engine package was really designed to perform best at European-style tracks: really fast, flowing, and smooth circuits. So when we come to Watkins Glen, we know we can run the car low [to the ground] and take advantage of the horsepower and aero platform the Acura provides. For sure, I wouldn't want to be in any other car here. It's a dream to drive."



Dane Cameron (#60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05): Qualified second; co-drivers will be Olivier Pla: "It is always good to be on the front row, it's a 'good view'. I'm not fully happy with my [best] lap, I think I made a couple of small mistakes on the quick lap and I think that made a difference, so I am a little disappointed on that.


But overall, we've had a good competitive weekend so far [leading both practice sessions prior to qualifying] and we've got a good car. Six hours is a long time, and I think there will be some different weather conditions to come so we will see how we get along on Sunday."





Fast Facts



    This is Acura's first front row qualifying sweep of 2021. It also was the first pole of the season for Taylor and his Wayne Taylor Racing squad [after qualifying on the front row at Sebring and Mid-Ohio]; and the first front-row start of 2021 for Cameron and Meyer Shank Racing.


    While Taylor edged Cameron by just 0.xxx for the pole, Cameron's Acura prototype was nearly five tenths of a second [+0.496s] quicker than the next-best car in the session.


    Taylor and season-long co-driver Filipe Albuquerque have unofficially extended their Drivers' Championship lead to 80 points over Oliver Jarvis and Harry Tincknell.






Where to Watch the Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen


Same-day television coverage from Watkins Glen begins at 7 p.m. EDT Saturday on the NBC Sports Network. Live flag-to-flag race coverage will be available on NBC Gold Track Pass and the NBC Sports App.



Fans can listen to audio commentary via IMSA.com, RadioLeMans.com and XM Radio; and follow the race live via in-car cameras, IMSA Radio and timing & scoring available worldwide on IMSA.com and the IMSA mobile device App.



Acura Motorsports social media content and video links from Watkins Glen International Raceway can be found on Instagram (www.instagram.com/hondaracing_hpd), Twitter (twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD). Additional features and long-form videos can be found on the Honda Racing/HPD YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV).




- Acura also photos IMSA Galstatt/ Levitt