• Tom Blomqvist qualifies second in his #60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian ARX-06 for Saturday's IMSA 12 Hours of Sebring
•Renger van der Zande will start sixth, displays strong pace in #93 Acura MSR machine
Tom Blomqvist set the pace for Acura in qualifying ahead of the 73rd annual 12 Hours of Sebring, securing a second-place starting position in his #60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian ARX-06 for the second round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. A red flag paused the session, providing only a few minutes for the drivers to set a qualifying lap, but Blomqvist was able to clock in a strong time on his final lap that put him a mere 0.025 of a second off pole position.
Blomqvist will be joined in the #60 machine by Colin Braun and Honda IndyCar driver Scott Dixon as the trio look to notch another win for Acura at Sebring. Acura took the honors in last year's race with drivers Jordan Taylor, Louis Deletraz and Colton Herta.
The mid-session interruption meant that the #93 Phillips 66 Acura ARX-06 of Renger van der Zande had a limited window to set a qualifying lap. As the checkered flag was waved, he crossed the line and earned the sixth-best time of the day, and will start the 12 hour endurance event from the third row with co-drivers Nick Yelloly and reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou.
Twelve Hours of Sebring Acura Qualifying Results
•Qualified 2nd - #60 Tom Blomqvist, Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06. Co-drivers will be Colin Braun and Scott Dixon.
•Qualified 6th - #93 Renger van der Zande, Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06. Co-drivers will be Nick Yelloly and Alex Palou.
Quotes
Tom Blomqvist (#60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06) Qualified 2nd: 'The car is good and feels fast! We just got ourselves in a difficult spot there with the traffic and our track position following the red flag. It was a little frustrating for us, I was just trying to complete my lap, but in the end pole position just wasn't meant to be. It's a bit disappointing because I think our Acura had the pace to fight for first. It's a long race, so your starting position isn't the most important factor, but we'll see what tomorrow brings!'
Renger van der Zande (#93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06) Qualified 6th: 'It's a long race, but qualifying is always a good opportunity to go for a fast lap. This time, it didn't quite work out in our favor. I think with the traffic that came into play, I would have needed a second lap but didn't have that option because the checkered was out. We missed the timing a bit, but it's something we can learn from. We have 12 hours to race and everything else really doesn't matter.'
How to Watch the Twelve Hours of Sebring
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship 12 Hours of Sebring will air exclusively on NBC Peacock beginning at 10:00 AM ET Saturday, March 15th—coming on air just before the expected green flag time of 10:10.
Internationally, fans can watch on IMSA's YouTube channel while Radio Le Mans will have live flag-to-flag coverage via IMSA.com.
Acura and HRC US social media content and video links can be found on:
•Instagram www.instagram.com/hondaracing_us
•X www.twitter.com/hondaracing_us
•Linkedin www.linkedin.com/showcase/honda-racing-corporation-usa/
•Facebook www.facebook.com/HondaRacingUS
•TikTok www.tiktok.com/@hondaracing_us
•YouTube www.youtube.com/@HondaRacingUS
Photo credit: Acura posted on conceptcarz.com
