While we await formal news about Acura’s factory involvement with the American Le Mans series, the Patron Highcroft team has announced they will stay with the Acura. The car they chose is the surprising part.
The team has chosen to run the ARX-01C which took Fernandez racing to championship glory in 2009. The article on Autosport states the team will continue to work with Honda Performance Development, however Acura has been relatively quiet since the season ended. Highcroft racing believes that given the performance of LMP2 car at Laguna Seca, it would be a real contender when the new combined prototype class runs next season.
David Brabham will be leading the Acura effort with a teammate to be announced soon. Brabham’s more reckless partner Scott Sharp will not be with the team next year as he runs his Extreme Speed Ferrari in the highly contested GT2 class.
I will agree that the mixed prototype racing may be pretty good next year with technical liberties given to the LMP2s, however the car count at this moment is far too low at this moment to really enjoy. The racing is going to take place at the GT2 level. Another interesting point is de Ferran Motorsport. Will they like wise go to a LMP2 chassis or continue to run the ARX-02a? Better yet, will they run the series at all?
