Team Acura Parts Blog

Acura teams, which are heading for the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix race track, will be relying on their seasoned drivers, such as Adrian Fernandez and Brian Herta, to acquire podium finishes in the 12-race American Le Man Series (ALMS) road racing set on the first day of September.

The new Acura sports car teams which include the Andretti Green Racing, Highcroft Racing, and Lowe’s Fernandez Racing have already established a good season debut in the 2007 ALMS opener, the Sebring. This season of racing is sure going to be a learning experience for these three not-so novice Acura teams. According to the Acura officials, the teams have yet to show what they are made of in the ALMS proper. These teams, however, have already shown their potentials after their wheel-to-wheel encounter with the Penske cars in the ALMS opener.

“Winning the first race at Sebring (with Andretti Green in the LMP2 class and second overall) was hard to believe and that was quite an accomplishment for the new Acura program,” said Robert Clarke, president, Honda Performance Development. “When you win the season opener, you feel that you can win some races. But we were realistic about the 2007 season. We weren’t looking for on-track results. This was a learning year for us.”

This time around, the drivers behind the Acura vehicles are sure to explode at the street circuit set on Bell Isle and may even go away with the a title or two.

“At Belle Isle, I think the Acuras can be very competitive,” said Clarke. “We are not really in the championship battle this year. Learning the ALMS series and sports car racing in general was the goal in 2007 for Acura.”

In reference to the results of last Friday’s qualifying grid in the LMP2 class for this Saturday’s famed Road America’s Generac 500 race, the top Acura racecar drivers were interviewed for comments. David Brabham raced to third-best, and closely followed by Marino Franchitti who grabbed no.4 spot.

DAVID BRABHAM: “We were pretty much out to lunch on Thursday. But today we made a lot of progress with the Highcroft Acura. I’m very pleased with the way it ended up today. The car really became better as the day went on for us. We have a bigger window for us to push with the suspension now and that was a key for the team. You can place the car where you want now. That is a big improvement. We haven’t really tested here like some of the other teams. So, we are a little behind in that regard. I think Stefan and I are ready for the race after today. The Highcroft crew has given us a good car for Saturday.”

MARINO FRANCHITTI: “Overall, I think I got all I could out of the car. The last three laps were the fastest and we tried very hard on the last one. I slid into the gravel trap. I would have liked to have finished that one. But that was about all she had right now. We’re in the top four and hopefully, we can give the fight to the Porsches on Saturday. I think that Bryan, myself and the whole Andretti Green XM Satellite team have done a good job getting the car ready for today. We improved the car quite a bit from Thursday. I think we have a good car for the race. We’d like to get back up on the podium here.”

Acura’s top racing drivers, David Brabham and Stefan Johnson, suffered through a rough testing session last Thursday, a day before the qualifying class for Saturday’s Generac 500 race. Brabham’s Acura racing car, a no. 9 Highcroft Acura ARX-01a sports car, was calculated to be two and a half seconds behind the pace of their Porsche rival.

However, the team was able to successfully treat the understeer problem, and by Friday of the qualifying, Brabham was already able to lower his lap times, and to set the third-fastest time among the rest of the other teams.

Brabham, sharing the race with Johansson, posted a lap time of 1 minute, 49.767 seconds on the 14-turn track. First and second placers are from the Porsche teams, Romain Dumas and Ryan Briscoe. In the 20-minute session race, Brabham was even able to take the lead for a while with a 1:49.973 reading before settling for third. The four-hour Generac 500 is set to start this Saturday, 4:00 in the afternoon.

Trailing at the no.4 spot is another Acura representative from the Andretti Green Racing, Marino Franchitti. Franchitti and his No. 26 XM Satellite Radio Acura ARX-01a posted a lap time of 1:50.100. Franchitti was also quick in the early segments of the LMP2 qualifying grid, but encountered a slight off-course excursion. Franchitti would be partnering with Sebring winner Bryan Herta on Saturday’s race.

After a sensational win in the 2007 12-race American Le Mans Series (ALMS) road racing’s season opener, aptly called the 12 hours of Sebring, the three new Acura teams have build quite a solid first season and are hoping to maintain the lead. These brilliant Acura sports car teams include the Andretti Green Racing, Highcroft Racing, and Lowe’s Fernandez Racing.

And now with the Generac 500 race at Road America, the 8^th race in the series, coming this Saturday, Acura officials are quite hopeful to cinch another victory under its belt. This may be Acura’s debut season in this road racing campaign, but the company made sure to bring its top racing units, together with an equally-superior lineup of Acura drivers.

Robert Clarke, President of the Honda Performance Development stated: “Winning the first race at Sebring, with Andretti Green in the LMP2 class and second overall, was quite an accomplishment for the new Acura program. We would like to win another race this year. When you win the season opener, you feel that you can win some races. But we were realistic about the 2007 season. We weren’t looking for on-track results. This was a learning year for us with the Acura program and the three Acura teams. The Porsches are very fast. So it is tough.”

With regards to the upcoming race in Road America that is worth four miles, Clark is quite positive on the chances of Acura’s chosen squads: “At Road America, overall speed is important and I think we have the power to be very competitive. We are not really in the championship battle this year. Learning the series and sports car racing in general was the goal in 2007 for Acura.”