Yelloly, van der Zande, Braun and Blomqvist Tabbed for Full-Season Duties in Acura ARX-06s
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Returning to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with an expanded Honda Racing Corporation USA (HRC US) partnership and competition program, Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian (Acura MSR) has finalized its full-season driver pairings for a two-car Acura Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) attack in 2025.
After bookending the 2023 WeatherTech Championship season with wins at the Rolex 24 At Daytona and Motul Petit Le Mans, as well as taking an overall victory at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Tom Blomqvist and Colin Braun will return to drive Acura MSR’s No. 60 Acura ARX-06 in the top prototype class.
New to the Acura MSR stable are Renger van der Zande and Nick Yelloly, who will pair up in the No. 93 Acura ARX-06. Van der Zande is coming off of a competitive season in the No. 01 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R, with an overall win on the streets of Long Beach and the Motul Petit Le Mans this past weekend. He had three additional podium finishes at Sebring, Detroit and Watkins Glen.
Yelloly has competed in the WeatherTech Championship for the last four seasons and collected a win at the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen in 2023 as well as five podium finishes.
The 2025 season will see Acura MSR partner with HRC US to field two entries in the GTP class. 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 in the Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) class. The team scored the first victory for the Acura NSX in Detroit.
Running the Acura NSX platform in IMSA competition for four seasons, MSR amassed seven poles, seven victories and 16 podium finishes. Acura MSR won the 2019 WeatherTech Championship team and driver championships and followed that up with a second championship win in 2020, also giving Acura the manufacturer championship honors that year.
The 2021 and 2022 seasons saw Acura MSR move up to the top Daytona Prototype international (DPi) class. Three poles, two wins and eight podiums later, the team raced to the DPi title in 2022 with full-season drivers Blomqvist and Oliver Jarvis.
Acura MSR embarked on a new era of competition with HRC US in 2023 with the debut of the Acura LMDh hybrid, the ARX-06, in the new GTP class. Braun and Blomqvist combined for the three victories and finished third in the standings, just 22 points shy of the championship.
Acura MSR will make its first official outing at Daytona International Speedway for the IMSA-sanctioned test in November.
Meyer Shank Racing Team Quotes:
Mike Shank, Team Co-Owner: “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. Putting Tom and Colin back in the driver’s 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.”
David Salters, HRC US President: “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. 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 sports cars 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 who 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!”
Colin Braun, No. 60 Acura ARX-06: “I’m really looking forward to reuniting with Mike, Jim (Meyer), 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. 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.”
Tom Blomqvist, No. 60 Acura ARX-06: “I’m pleased I’m able to return home to IMSA with MSR. 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.”
Renger van der Zande, No. 93 Acura ARX-06: “I’m super excited to be joining a new team and a new brand. 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.”
Nick Yelloly, No. 93 Acura ARX-06: “I’m really excited to be joining the Acura MSR/HRC project. 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.
Clearly, the team is very hungry and willing to push flat out, which sits well with me as I have the same type of mentality. My teammates I’ve known for quite a while. I’ve raced with Renger and Tom for many years, so I think that will be quite seamless. Colin, I’ve raced wheel-to-wheel against a few times last year, and he’s a great racing driver. I think this core group of drivers will be able to take this program to the front where it belongs.”
(Photo: Honda Racing Corporation USA)