In an afternoon that had been swirling with rumors of a potential Acura exit from IMSA in 2027, Nick Yelloly delivered a positive headline for the Japanese manufacturer, securing pole position in his No. 93 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06 for tomorrow’s Long Beach Grand Prix.

Yelloly edged out the rest of the GTP field with a best lap of 1:11.626 to claim the overall top starting spot. Marco Wittmann was just behind in the No. 25 Wayne Taylor Racing BMW, posting a 1:11.656 to close out qualifying, while Louis Delétraz completed the top three with a 1:11.833.

Yelloly and MSR’s sister entry, the No. 60 Acura ARX-06, did not take part in qualifying after sustaining chassis damage from an incident involving Colin Braun in FP2.

Porsche Penske Motorsport appeared to be impacted by the ACO’s Balance of Performance adjustment heading into the event, which included a significant 99-pound weight increase. Julien Andlauer placed the No. 7 Porsche 963 fifth, while Kevin Estre will start eighth in the GTP field. Tijmen van der Helm will line up 10th in the non-EVO 963 after strong practice pace for the JDC-Miller Motorsports effort.

“I’ve always been a fan of street courses,” said Yelloly. “I was fortunate enough to win in Monaco back in my Carrera Cup days as well. So I’ve always enjoyed flirting with the walls and getting away with it, and today was great. The car was great. We knew we had a good car already in free practice, so it was just about executing as best as I could. I had a couple of good laps there in the end, so that was nice.”

The 100-minute Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach kicks off tomorrow at 4:05 p.m. ET, live on NBC and streaming on Peacock.