Winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona, Meyer Shank Racing heavily penalized

Thunderclap in the world ofEndurance American. The Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) team, which won for the second consecutive time at the 2 Hours of Daytona last January, is accused of having played with tire pressures and of having driven below the regulatory threshold set by Michelin.

Entrusted to the hands of Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun, Helio Castroneves, and simon pagenaud Meyer Shank Racing's Acura ARX-06 GTP won the first major race in the new GTP category of theIMSA.

In an official announcement, IMSA explains that it was Honda Performance Development (HPD) which discovered the manipulation and reported it to the series. After a month of investigation, the North American Endurance Championship decided to take action with no fewer than six penalties imposed on the MSR.

– Loss of 200 points in the IMSA Drivers and Manufacturers championship
– Loss of all points in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup ranking
– Loss of financial reward from the 24 Hours of Daytona
– Fine of $50
– Team representative, Mike Shank, is on probation until June 30, 2023.
– Engineer Ryan McCarthy has had his annual IMSA accreditation revoked and his championship membership suspended indefinitely.

Meyer Shank Racing still retains its victory, but it is now Wayne Taylor Racing and the Acura ARX-06 driven by Filipe Albuquerque, Louis Delétraz, Brendon Hartley, and Ricky Taylor who take control of the IMSA championship.

The MSR has taken note of the sanctions and accepts the series' decision while recognizing its responsibility.

pic.twitter.com/JNhqexr6ki

— Meyer Shank Racing (@MeyerShankRac) March 8, 2023

« We apologize to everyone at Acura, Honda Performance Development, and all of our partners, reacted MSR. We resolved the issue internally and the responsible team member is no longer part of the team.

We do not want this error to overshadow the phenomenal efforts made by our team, our pilots, and our partners to develop this new LMDh prototype.

We consider the matter closed and are determined to start from scratch at the next 12 Hours of Sebring ».

It remains to be seen how MSR will be received at Sebring for the second round of the 2023 IMSA season (March 18) and especially how Honda will react after such an affront.

(UPDATE): HPD was quick to respond and said “ very disappointed with the actions of Meyer Shank Racing during the 24 Hours of Daytona » in a press release. “ HPD does not tolerate any misconduct, any criminal act, or any manipulation of data of any kind. We fully support the actions taken by IMSA. We have put in a lot of effort over the past two years with our chassis partners to make the ARX-06 the best car possible. For this to be called into question is simply unacceptable. ". Divorce in sight between MSR and HPD? Remember that the team uses a Honda engine in IndyCar...