Hard work and dedication is the name of the game for HART Racing as the dynamic team crossed off its first bucket list item – finishing the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Now, the team that is comprised of full-time Acura employees will take on the second endurance event of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.
While the calendar shows some 48 days between the two events, that number dwindles quickly when you take into consideration the full-time jobs of the HART Racing staff at Acura. But this kind of timeframe is nothing new for the small team of committed workers who share a true passion for motorsports as they prepare their No. 69 Acura NSX GT3 for 12 grueling hours of competition this weekend.
After notching a major accomplishment in finishing the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the team is ready to yet again turn heads as they enter Round 2 of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The team will see the return of drivers Chad Gilsinger and Ryan Eversley to the seat of the No. 69 Acura NSX GT3. The team will also welcome experienced Acura NSX competitor Tom Dyer as the third driver for the endurance classic.
“I know Tom (Dyer) from the Michael Shank Racing NSX program from last year and Tom and I used to compete against each other in the Continental Challenge series,” explained Gilsinger. “Tom has a lot of experience with the NSX GT3 car and also has shared the car with Eversley in the PWC Sprint X races. It was an easy choice for us to bring Tom aboard for this race.”
Dyer knows the ins and outs of the Acura NSX GT3, having served as endurance driver for Michael Shank Racing last year and who has also worked with many of the Acura engineers that now work with HART. Dyer’s familiarity with the platform on the rough and tumble circuit of Sebring International Raceway will be a major asset to the team.
“It’s a great honor I’ll be once again representing the Acura brand, in such a stunning car with all my friends from Honda and I look forward to building off of what we learned at the event in 2017,” said Dyer. “I’m also thrilled to be driving with the HART team, as you won’t find a more dedicated and authentic group in the paddock. Their name really does represent what they’re all about and it’s another honor to be a part of their team and effort. It was great to be a part of this race for the first time last year and pretty much like many have said or say… it’s a 12 hour race that feels like a 24! You do the best you can to settle into a rhythm and negotiate the trickiness that is Sebring. Coming back a year later, so much understanding about the car has transpired that I anticipate it be better than ever and I look forward to being able to compare the then to now.”
Gilsinger is looking forward to heading back to the iconic Sebring, Florida circuit as he has formed a sense of familiarity having been involved with the Acura NSX production car development at the track before the production machine launched in 2017.
“I am extremely proud of the team’s showing at our first Rolex 24 event,” said Gilsinger. “We had our ups and downs during the weekend but these guys never missed a beat, the professionalism and positive attitude that everyone held throughout the entire event really showed what our team is about and made me very proud to be a part of it. For myself, it really felt good to finally get a lot of seat time in the car and I feel much more confident now heading into Sebring. I have a lot of laps around there (Sebring) in the NSX street car as we did a lot of our production car development there and I am really looking forward to getting back into our #69 Acura NSX GT3 race car to check another bucket list event off our list!”
Eversley, who was pleased with the team’s debut showing at Daytona despite facing adversity, is looking forward to the next endurance event.
“I thought the guys handled Daytona extremely well,” said Eversley. “The Rolex 24 is practically an All-Star race and our team was as strong as any in our class. We didn’t have a single pit stop penalty from the crew. I think we’ll be strong come race time at Sebring. We definitely learned a few things on strategy we want to try from the 24 that I think will help us, but Sebring is its own animal and you never know what can happen. Having Tom (Dyer) with us will be a big part of our weekend as he ran this race last year with Shank and was super fast. I think together with Chad (Gilsinger) and I we make a very strong lineup.”
The Mobil 1 Twelves Hours of Sebring presented by Advanced Auto Parts will go green on Saturday, March 17th at 10:30 a.m.
Source. Sunday Group
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