Real Time Racing Acura NSX Sweeps Road America Weekend

• Real Time Racing Acura takes Sunday overall win, first of 2019 for a ProAm car
• Acura NSX GT3 Evo racers have won at each GT weekend of 2019
• Racer’s Edge Motorsports scores pair of podiums to maintain series lead

Teams driving the Acura NSX GT3 Evo have spent the majority of the 2019 SRO Blancpain GT World Challenge America season at the front of the ProAm grid, but the Real Time Racing duo of Dane Cameron and Mike Hedlund raised the standard this weekend at Road America, becoming the first ProAm pairing to earn an overall GT race win in 2019.

The RealTime Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo dominated the ProAm weekend, getting the fifth and sixth wins of the season and driver Cameron.  The team’s orange and white #43 Acura has closed to within four points of the championship-leading Racer’s Edge Motorsports NSX GT3, despite having missed the season’s opening weekend. The Real Time Racing squad, which earned the 100th win of its storied history in Sunday’s race, has won five of six races since Hedlund joined Cameron as the regular co-driver at Sonoma Raceway.

Hedlund rolled from the pole in Saturday’s race, and maintained the top spot in the class through the first half of the event. A flawless driver change midway into the 90-minute contest put Cameron’s NSX on track ahead of the Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 of Anthony Imperato.  Cameron then used that track position advantage to secure the first victory of the weekend for the RealTime squad.

On Sunday, Hedlund and Cameron needed to come from behind early as the championship-leading Racer’s Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3 Evo of Kyle Marcelli and Martin Barkey won the overall pole. Cameron erased that advantage on the opening lap, sweeping around Marcelli in Turn 1 to assume the lead. Hedlund took over and had things in hand before a late bit of confusion – when officials first called for a full-course caution, then rescinded the call – allowed the R. Ferri Motorsports Ferrari of Daniel Serra to threaten for the win.  But Hedlund was equal to the task, and held on for the overall win of the season for a ProAm entry, while Marcelli and Barkey took second in ProAm.

In Saturday’s opener, Barkey and Marcelli took the checkers 1.04 seconds behind the Wright Motorsports Porsche on Saturday to finish third. Combined with Sunday’s runner-up result, Racer’s Edge Acura NSX maintains a four-point lead in the ProAm division heading into the season’s finale next month.

The Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo of Till Bectholsheimer and Trent Hindman started their weekend off with a fifth-place ProAm run on Saturday, and improved to finish fourth in Sunday’s nightcap.

Next

The battle for the 2019 SRO Blancpain GT World Challenge America ProAm series championship will come down to the last weekend of the year, as Las Vegas Motor Speedway hosts Rounds 13 and 14 of the campaign on October 19-20.

Social media content and video links from this weekend’s activities at Road America are available on Facebook at (https://www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD) and on Twitter at (https://twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD).

Quotes

Mike Hedlund (#43 RealTime Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo): “I can't ask for anything more, the team did a really amazing job.  We had no mistakes, the pit stops were excellent, the car was good from the time we unloaded. Even with this questionable weather this weekend, which can mix things up, everyone executed well and we were able to get the wins."

Dane Cameron (#43 RealTime Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo): “The championship wasn’t really something we had in mind when we got started [after missing the first race weekend of the season], but now it’s starting to get real for us.  It will come down to the last weekend and we know that anything can happen. We’ll just keep digging and see what happens.”

Blancpain GT World Challenge America
Circuit: Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis.
Weather: Partly cloudy, breezy 75 degrees F Saturday
                 Cloudy, windy 77 degrees F Sunday

Saturday Race Top Five Pro/Am Results:

Sunday Race Top Five Pro/Am Results:

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