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Source: Sports Car 365

Photo: Brandon Badraoui/IMSA Acura has officially confirmed its exit from the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at the end of the season. The news, announced on Wednesday, follows Sportscar365’s report last week that the luxury automaker was set to end its factory GTP program, amid significant financial losses from parent company Honda in relation to EV sales. In a statement, Acura said that it will “pause” its IMSA GTP program, while pivoting the brand to an increased effort in the NTT IndyCar Series, with Acura sponsorship set to be on Marcus Armstrong’s Meyer Shank Racing-entered entry in this year’s Indianapolis 500. No word has been made regarding the possibility of seeing the ARX-06s run by customers either next year or in the future. Additionally, a reason for the halting of its sports car racing program was not given. “We are extremely proud of what we’ve accomplished during this era of Acura prototype racing which began back in 2018 with the introduction of the...

Photo: Mike Levitt/IMSA A total of 34 entries are set for next weekend’s Monterey SportsCar Championship, the fourth round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. Following a GTP-GTD only sprint race on the streets of Long Beach, the GTD Pro class returns to action for next Sunday’s first two-hour and 40-minute race of the season. The GTD Pro class will feature nine entries for its first sprint outing of the season, all consisting of full season teams. Co-championship leaders Manthey Racing, as expected, has not altered its plan of contesting the Michelin Endurance Cup-only races with its Nos. 911 and 912 Porsche 911 GT3 R Evos not on the Laguna entry list. It means Paul Miller Racing’s Connor De Phillippi and Neil Verhagen will enter the event with an effective 30-point lead over Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports’ Nicky Catsburg and Tommy Milner. The 11-car GTP class is largely unchanged from Long Beach, which was won by the No. 93 Meyer Shank Racing...

Photo: IDEC Sport Genesis Magma Racing Trajectory Program driver Valerio Rinicella will make his 24 Hours of Le Mans debut this year, driving an IDEC Sport Oreca 07 Gibson alongside team regulars Paul Lafargue and Job van Uitert. Rinicella won the 2024 Asian Le Mans Series title and is making a full-time switch from single-seaters to sports cars this season, with his main program being in the European Le Mans with IDEC. He finished fourth in the season opener in Barcelona earlier this month alongside Jamie Chadwick and Laurents Hoerr in the Genesis-backed car . He has now been confirmed as tackling Le Mans with class stalwarts Lafargue and van Uitert, who previously finished on the podium together with IDEC in 2024. Rinicella described competing at Le Mans as “a childhood dream coming true” and added: “For a first-time entry, there’s obviously a lot of excitement, but also a bit of pressure. “It’s a race with very experienced drivers, so I still have a lot to learn, esp...

Photo: Conquest Racing Lorenzo Patrese will sub for Manny Franco at the wheel of Conquest Racing’s GTD entry for next weekend’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship round at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Patrese, the son of Riccardo Patrese, will make his first sprint round start with the Eric Bachelart-led team, aboard the No. 34 Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo alongside Albert Costa. The 20-year-old FIA Silver-rated Italian driver has been part of the team’s Michelin Endurance Cup lineup this year. Franco is unavailable for the first two-hour and 40-minute race of the season for personal reasons. “It’s an amazing opportunity to race at such a legendary track,” said Patrese.  “I’m excited to get started and very happy to be back with the team sooner than expected. “Albert and I make a strong pairing for this race, and I’m really looking forward to the weekend.” Conquest is coming off its first podium finish of the season in last weekend’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, where ...

Photo: SRO Six new additional cars are expected on the GT America powered by AWS grid this weekend at Circuit of The Americas, for Rounds 3 and 4 of the season. The provisional 21-car entry list , features three new Ferrari 296 GT3 entires, a pair of additional Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evos and another Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo, further boosting the FIA Bronze-rated single driver sprint series. One11 Competition and Ferrano Motorsports are set to field Ferraris in the SRO3 class for Jason McCarthy and Tony Ferrano, respectively, while Rodin Younessi, who was originally slated to take part in last month’s pair of season-opening races at Sonoma Raceway, is again listed in his AF Corse entry. CJ Moses, known for his time in the series with an Audi R8 LMS GT2, has switched to a Mercedes-AMG fielded by Random Vandals Racing for his first start of the season, while Dan Knox returns to the series with his Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG. Wright Motorsports, meanwhile, is set to field an additional P...

Photo: Asian Le Mans Series Asian Le Mans Series teams are currently in a holding pattern for the confirmation of the 2026-27 calendar, amid the ongoing uncertainties and geopolitical situation in the Middle East. The upcoming season, which was earmarked to start off in November in the United Arab Emirates following the FIA World Endurance Championship season-ending 8 Hours of Bahrain, and conclude in Sepang in mid-January, has not yet been officially confirmed or announced by organizers. While some teams are pushing ahead with plans, on the basis of the proposed calendar, which was communicated to teams prior to the start of the U.S./Israel conflict with Iran, others are waiting for further clarity to see what develops. “The main consideration is what the calendar looks like and the what the budget then looks like because of the calendar and what the desire is from the drivers,” United Autosports CEO Richard Dean told Sportscar365. “That’s not an easy thing to predict at the mom...