Acura NSX GT3 Evo Sweeps 2020 GT World Challenge America Opening Weekend

• Shelby Blackstock, Trent Hindman storm to pair of wins to open season
• Racers Edge Acura NSX GT3 Evo runs fastest lap in both races
• 2019 defending GT ProAm champs Martin Barkey and Kyle Marcelli run fifth in opener

Racers Edge Motorsports started the defense of its SRO GT World Challenge America championship in strong fashion this weekend as the team took its Acura NSX GT3 Evo to a pair of overall wins at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

The Silver Class pairing of Trent Hindman and Shelby Blackstock joined the Racers Edge Pro/Am duo of Martin Barkey and Kyle Marcelli that won the 2019 drivers' crown, and promptly set up shop in Victory Lane.

Blackstock and Hindman bested the field by more than 21 seconds in Saturday's opening race on the 3.427-mile, 12-turn COTA circuit, then followed that up with a win in Sunday's event,. The team also recorded the fastest laps in each of the weekend's races.

Defending Pro/Am champs Barkey and Marcelli had a tougher weekend, as they placed fifth overall and fourth in class in the opener on Saturday, then suffered a post-race penalty following mid-race contact on Sunday. The penalty cost them three positions, dropping them to ninth overall (eighth in Pro/Am) in Race 2. The team's #80 Acura NSX GT3 Evo was a factor in Sunday's Pro/Am battle, running second to its sister car before the contact with Colin Kurtz resulted in a cut tire that put the car down more than a minute from the leader following the resulting pit stop for repairs.

Blackstock, who honed his road racing skills in Touring Car competition last season in the Honda Civic Type R TCR, showed complete confidence behind the wheel of the Acura, taking a pair of first- place finishes. In his first weekend in GT World Challenge America competition. Co-driver Hindman has won multiple races in the NSX GT3 Evo, and currently drives another NSX GT3 Evo for Meyer Shank Racing in IMSA GTD endurance-racing competition.

The wins this weekend mark the first victories of 2020 for the Acura NSX GT3 Evo, which won team championships in both IMSA GTD and the SRO GT World Challenge series in 2019. The car, sold and supported by HPD in North America, runs in both Sprint and Endurance racing competition around the world.

Next
Following this weekend's season opener at the Circuit of the Americas, the GT World Challenge America series takes a two-month break before resuming for Rounds Three and Four May 15-17 at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.

Social media content and video links from this weekend's Acura Motorsports activity at Circuit of the Americas are available on HPD's Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD) and on Twitter at (https://twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD).

Quotes
Trent Hindman (#93 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3 Evo) finished first overall both Saturday and Sunday: "Shelby's [Blackstock, co-driver] first race in GT3, and his first in the NSX GT3 Evo, and he brings home the win. I think that goes to show the quality of the NSX, and of the whole program. Getting two wins in two races is a great way to start the year, but we've got a lot more work to do the rest of this season."

Shelby Blackstock (#93 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3 Evo) finished first overall both Saturday and Sunday: "It's a total team effort. The team kept pushing, continued to really advance the car all weekend and it kept getting better. The Acura NSX GT3 Evo was amazing all day long, and we had great tire performance. I can't say enough about this team and this car."

SRO Motorsports Group GT World Challenge America

Circuit:        Circuit of the Americas, Austin, TX
Weather:      Cloudy, cool, 60 degrees F Saturday and Sunday

Race Results Saturday:

Race Results Sunday:

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