Acura LMP1 Passes Test at Sebring

Scott Sharp drive the Acura ARX-02a at Sebring. (Patron Hightcroft Racing)

Acura Racing’s much-anticipated ARX-02a Le Mans Prototype 1-class racing cars turned their first hot laps at the ‘Wheels Down’ Winter Test at Sebring International Raceway.

Acura brought a pair of the new cars to Sebring: one for Patron Highcroft Racing, and one for De Ferran racing. The two teams will campaign the cars in the 2009 American Le Mans Series.

The new cars, developed by Honda Performance Development of California and Wirth Research in England, use a four-liter version of the engine used in the Acura ARX-01b LMP2 cars. The four-valve, DOHC engine produces approximately 620 horsepower on 100-octane E-10 gasoline (gas with 10% ethanol.)

Fast in Testing

After spending the first session making minor adjustments, particularly to the brakes, the Acuras came out charging in the second session. De Ferran driver Simon Pagenaud turned in the day’s fastest time with a lap of 1 minute, 45.053, followed by Patron Highcroft driver Scott Sharp who ran 1 minute, 46.824 seconds.

On the second day of testing the Pagenaud’s Acura ran a fast lap of 1:44:814, averaging 126.723 mph around Sebring’s 3.7-mile, 17-turn road circuit, beating Marco Werner’s standing qualifying record, set in 2007 in an Audi R10 TDI. [caption id=“attachment_80222” align=“alignright” width=“320” caption="Patron Highcroft owner Duncan Dayton speaks to the press at the Acura ARX-02a