MSR Acura Saves Day, Maybe Season at Long BeachMichael L. Levitt - Getty ImagesIn the Saturday event at Long Beach for the IMSA WeatherTech Championship, the drivers of Meyer Shank Racing’s Acura ARX-06 were racing for the survival of their team. In the No. 93 entry of MSR, Nick Yelloly and Renger van der Zande took the victory amid strong rumors in the paddock that Honda Racing Corporation USA may not continue in IMSA’s premier series after the 2026 season.Yelloly and van der Zande brought the Acura brand, whose US headquarters is in Torrance, California, its first victory at Long Beach in the GTP era.

That made their win by 0.818 seconds over the Whelen-backed Cadillac of Jack Aitken and Frederik Vesti even sweeter and boosted the team’s future hopes.“The main topic of the day is winning the Acura Grand Prix for Acura as an Acura driver,” said van der Zande. He noted all the pre-race promotion done by drivers on behalf of Acura. “This is home ground for Acura.

It’s fantastic to take the win for Acura.”An already slim GTP field will be diminished if Acura does not continue next season, a situation MSR team co-owner Michael Shank has declined to talk about. For his part, van der Zande is focused on the current season, where he and Yelloly are fifth in the championship points, 108 behind the front-running Porsche duo of Felipe Nasr and Julien Andlauer. The latter two finished fourth at Long Beach in their Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 behind third-placed teammates Laurens Vanthoor and Kevin Estre.

When asked about the paddock rumors, van der Zande declined to comment directly. “We’re just trying to win,” said van der Zande, a streetmeister who has won six of the last 10 IMSA street races including last year’s Detroit event. “Winning races is the best solution to a lot of things.

We’re having the time of our life this year. Nick is a great teammate.”The Porsche Penske GTP Porsche 963 of points leaders Felipe Nasr and Julien Andlauer finished fourth at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.Perry Nelson - Getty ImagesIt was an all-or-nothing weekend for MSR. Shortly before qualifying, Colin Braun crashed and bent the team’s No. 60 entry, necessitating a back-up replacement.The No. 93 Acura is directed by engineers from Honda Racing Corporation USA, who have become an important element in the MSR team’s performance.

If Honda withdraws due to budget concerns, it’s possible the Acuras could become privateer entries. But that would be an unlikely path in the absence of development or control of the program by Honda in a fiercely competitive GTP category.The Porsches of Penske, after dominating Sebring, entered Long Beach with a weight surplus of 100 pounds under IMSA’s Balance of Performance. They qualified fifth and seventh, then advanced on aggressive driving and avoiding mistakes.

But the dust-up between the Porsche teammates at Sebring was again evident as Nasr flashed his lights at Vanthoor’s No. 6 entry in the closing laps, hectoring his rear wing. Known for his tire management, Nasr’s No. 7 appeared to be faster. Or Vanthoor, perhaps, had decided to slow down and protect his position. It was not clear if team orders, which led to bickering at Sebring, had been issued again.