The team failed to break into the top three in any of the six sessions and qualifying with either of its two entries.
The team’s No. 10 Acura ARX-06, driven by Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque, Brendon Hartley and Marcus Ericsson, managed to climb as high as fourth – out of a GTP class of 10 – in two of the sessions. Acura come in as reigning three-time winners of the event, with WTR with Andretti igniting the streak in 2021 before Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) carried the baton the past two years. WTR have also won the race on three other occasions (2017, 2019, 2020), which were powered by Cadillac.
Uniquely, though, it was the team’s No. 40 – which happens to be the same car MSR handed over after last year’s Petit Le Mans win that was organization’s swan song race in IMSA, for now – that stood tallest after qualifying fifth (1m33.100s around the 3.56-mile road course) with the combination of Jordan Taylor, Louis Deletraz, Colton Herta and Jenson Button. The sister No. 10 ended up sixth (1m33.347s)
“We definitely pushed hard,” Deletraz said.
“The car felt good in qualifying. We’ve been struggling slightly from the first test, but the team’s done a great job to keep improving the car.
“I think we’ve got it in a good window now for the race, and in the end that’s what matters. Qualifying is neat, but what matters next week is the 24-hour race.”
For his part, Albuquerque was satisfied with the outing but suggested the car is as close to its full potential.
“We’re starting P6 for the big race,” Albuquerque said.
“That’s more than (good) enough for the 24-hours. We’re still working on the balance of the car, which was pretty good, there’s really not much left in the car.
"Obviously, Louis did a good job (qualifying fifth), so we’re happy with what we accomplished. Obviously, we’re going to continue working to improve the car for the race this week.”
