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Acura Is Officially Pausing Its IMSA GTP Program
TL;DR
Acura has officially paused its IMSA GTP racing program, confirming the move through HRC US. The ARX-06 program may resume in the future, but it could also signal the end of Acura's racing operations in IMSA.
Key points
- Acura's IMSA GTP program is officially paused.
- The ARX-06 program may resume in the future.
- Acura has won 25 races and three team championships since 2018.
Mentioned in this story
AcuraHRC US
IMSA GTP24 Hours of Daytona
Acura Is Officially Pausing Its IMSA GTP ProgramMichael L. Levitt - Getty Images
Over the weekend, multiple reports suggested that Acura could be pausing its IMSA GTP racing program at the end of the season. HRC US, the division responsible for Honda and Acura's American racing activities, has now confirmed that move.
Officially, the ARX-06 program is merely paused. That is a particularly common piece of terminology in prototype racing, also used by Audi and Lamborghini in recent years. It means that the program could theoretically resume in the future with the same ARX-06 it uses now, but it could also mean that this is the end of the line for an Acura racing operation that has competed in IMSA's top class continuously since the debut of the Acura ARX-05 in 2018.
The Acura program has been a major success story in IMSA over that stretch, winning 25 races, three team championships, and three consecutive 24 Hours of Daytona races. The most recent of those overall victories, the 2023 race, was a win on debut for the ARX-06 in what was the first ever race for the modern IMSA GTP class. An Acura ARX-06 also won the most recent IMSA round on Saturday, marking Acura's first victory in the Long Beach race it sponsors.
News of Acura's departure comes a few months after rumors that the company could be considering a customer program with Inter Europol in the FIA World Endurance Championship. That program never came together, and today's announcement suggests that a customer program in IMSA is not going to materialize ahead of the 2027 season, either.
Acura joins Lamborghini and Alpine in shuttering a prototype program in the past year, although both Acura and Lamborghini call their changes a pause. Porsche has also closed the European half of its factory 963 operations, but that car is still racing and winning in IMSA. Notably, both Acura and Alpine use an Oreca chassis for their LMDh-spec prototype. That same company is still providing a chassis to the new Genesis Magma Racing and will also supply the spine for .
Q&A
Why did Acura pause its IMSA GTP program?
Acura paused its IMSA GTP program as part of a strategic decision confirmed by HRC US, though specific reasons were not detailed.
What achievements has Acura made in IMSA before pausing its program?
Before pausing its program, Acura won 25 races, three team championships, and three consecutive 24 Hours of Daytona races since debuting the ARX-05 in 2018.
Is there a possibility that Acura will resume its IMSA GTP program?
Yes, the term 'paused' suggests that Acura's IMSA GTP program could theoretically resume in the future with the same ARX-06 model.
