In its return to IMSA competition in 2025, Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian is bringing back its successful driver duo from 2023, and pairing drivers from elsewhere in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship paddock in its second car. Tom Blomqvist and Colin Braun are returning to drive the No. 60 Acura ARX-06, and Renger van der Zande and Nick Yelloly will be partnered in the No. 93.
“We’re really looking forward to getting back to work in IMSA and we’re excited to expand our relationship with HRC and Acura to run two GTPs next year,” said team principal Shank. “Putting Tom and Colin back in the drivers seat just made sense. The two of them had an incredible season in ’23 and I think that’s just cracking the surface on what they can accomplish together.
“And then with the addition of Renger and Nick, they both have extensive prototype experience and have shown a lot of strength the last few seasons, so I think they will be a big asset to the team.”
After bookending the 2023 IMSA season with wins at the Rolex 24 At Daytona and Motul Petit Le Mans, plus winning at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park and making a solid run at the championship, Blomqvist and Braun will be reunited in the the team’s expanded program with Honda Racing Corporation USA. In 2024, Braun ran a partial season in LMP2 with CrowdStrike Racing by APR, while Blomqvist was the endurance addition for Action Express Racing in addition to some time in the IndyCar Series with MSR.
“I’m pleased I’m able to return home to IMSA with MSR,” declared Blomqvist, who also competed with the team in 2022 to great effect. “This team is like family to me and we’ve achieved a whole lot together in sports cars. I believe next year we’re going to be stronger and better than 2023, and with Colin alongside me, we are a known quantity and we expect to win races from the start.
“The team and HRC have put a monumental effort into the program and I’m really excited to get things started. We have all the tools to succeed and we know that we have a lot more that we can achieve together.”
Braun has a long history of IMSA competition, including back-to-back titles in Prototype Challenge and most recently in LMP3. The Texan has also won championships in other categories, including GT World Challenge America.
“I’m really looking forward to reuniting with Mike, Jim, Tom, and the entire MSR team. Our 2023 season was incredible and I am confident we will be right back to form when we kick off the season,” said Braun. “Coming back together with all of the wonderful and hardworking people at Acura/HRC is motivating.
“They pour everything they have into this program and have such a positive impact on our performance, not to mention they are just fun to work with! It’s like getting the band back together, and I can’t wait to pick up where we left off.”
Dutch driver Renger van der Zande comes to the team after a long and successful run paired with Sebastien Bourdais at Chip Ganassi Racing, including winning Motul Petit Le Mans this past weekend. With the revelation that CGR would be departing the series at the end of the season, van der Zande faced an uncertain future in IMSA before he landed the drive with MSR.
“I’m super excited to be joining a new team and a new brand,” said van der Zande. “I want to thank Mike Shank, Jim Meyer and everyone at HRC for giving me this opportunity, but I also have to thank Cadillac for everything they have done for me the last seven years.
“Cadillac and Chip Ganassi Racing have become my racing family. Although it’s hard for me to leave, it’s time for a new chapter that I am really looking forward to. I’ve been racing against Acura for the last seven years and they’ve always been a fierce competitor. I’m excited to now be on their side and tap into their resources and see what we can do behind the wheel together next season.”
Yelloly has competed in IMSA with BMW, including two seasons in BMW Team RLL’s GTP program where he collected a win at the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen in 2023 as well as five podium finishes in IMSA’s top category. The Brit also has a victory at the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring.
“I’m really excited to be joining the Acura MSR / HRC project,” Yelloly stated. “From watching in the paddock, the cars have been very competitive, so I am looking forward to see what that is like. MSR is naturally a great racing team. I was able to see how competitive they were when I competed against them in 2023. And it’s awesome to see them taking big leaps and strides on the IndyCar side as well.”
The 2025 IMSA season will see Acura MSR partner with HRC US to field two entries in the GTP category. Acura MSR first partnered with HRC—then known as Honda Performance Development—in 2017 as the factory team to a run a pair of Acura NSX GT3s. The team scored the first victory for the Acura NSX in Detroit and in four seasons amassed seven victories and two championships.
The 2021-’22 seasons saw Acura MSR move up to the top DPi category. Three poles, 2 wins and 8 podiums later, and the team raced to a third IMSA championship title in 2022.
“I’m very excited about this new partnership with Meyer Shank Racing and HRC and for the four drivers we have, so far, brought on board the program,” said David Salters, president of HRC US. “Colin, Nick, Renger and Tom all bring supreme skill to work with our engineers to develop the race car, plus a clear focus and big hearts to fight for victory in our electrified ARX-06.
“Whilst racing at the highest level in prototype sportscars is a technical sport, more importantly it is a team sport. Colin, Nick, Renger and Tom are world-class racing drivers who will lead us forward as one team. We are clear and humble in our goals as we are racing at the pinnacle against world class competitors whom we respect enormously. We have a lot of work ahead of us and we will support each other and push damn hard together whilst remembering to have some fun!”
The team will announce its additions for the endurance races at a later date, but MSR has a history of drawing from the IndyCar Series side of its program. The team’s victories at Daytona and Petit Le Mans in 2023 included Helio Castroneves, and Simon Pagenaud was in the squad at Daytona.
The team has gone to work with its ARX-06s immediately, with the first IMSA-sanctioned outing scheduled for mid-November at Daytona International Speedway