After years of chasing a breakthrough at Long Beach, Meyer Shank Racing finally delivered, securing the brand’s first win at the event since 2009 with the #93 Acura ARX-06, driven by Renger van der Zande and Nick Yelloly, claiming both the GTP class and overall victory on the streets of California.

It was a relatively controlled race for the #93 squad. Yelloly briefly lost the lead to Jack Aitken in the #31 Whelen Cadillac while navigating GTD traffic, but the team executed its pit strategy cleanly to reclaim the top spot. From lap 33 onward, the #93 never looked back. The #31 pairing of Aitken and Frederik Vesti attempted to mount a charge, but following the pit cycle, the Cadillac duo was unable to close the gap.

Further down the order, the GTP field saw its share of intense battles. The opening lap was particularly edgy, with Kevin Estre in the #6 Penske Porsche 963 attempting an outside move on Aitken into Turn 1. The move resulted in left-front damage for Estre, though he continued until repairs could be made during a pit stop.

Another flashpoint came later in the race when the #25 WRT BMW of Philipp Eng became locked in a fierce battle with the #5 JDC-Miller Porsche driven by Laurin Heinrich. The fight ended in contact, sending Eng into the wall and destroying his rear wing. The incident brought out the second full-course caution of the race, following an earlier yellow for debris.

The third and fourth cautions also involved GTP entries. Roman De Angelis stopped his #23 Aston Martin Valkyrie after an issue entering Turn 1, while Ricky Taylor found the wall in his #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac, sustaining damage and becoming stuck, which brought out another caution.

“Yeah, I mean, it was all relatively smooth sailing until it wasn’t,” Nick Yelloly stated. “So yeah, for me, I think it was a relatively decent and very comfortable first couple of laps. Then when we came around to the first set of lap traffic, yeah, I went one way thinking the guy had seen me, and he clearly hadn’t. And then, yeah, I think he panicked when he saw Jack go to the left a little bit and slammed the brakes, so I gave him a little nudge. Unfortunately, that wasn’t what we had planned on doing. But anyway, I just tried to stay as close as I could with quite a big fuel target and see how it played out in the pit stops. Obviously, we fell on the right side of that yellow, which was great for us. And then, yeah, it was a nail-biting finish, but I knew the man behind the wheel could do the job. And yeah, I wasn’t too worried, so it was great.”

“It’s winning the Acura Grand Prix for Acura as an Acura driver,” said Renger van der Zande. “I think that makes it very, very special. And, you know, we got brought into this program almost to win this one, I would say. So, you know, there’s been a lot of effort. We’ve been dragged around Long Beach, L.A., everything that is around it, to promote the Grand Prix. And I think that’s for a reason, because this is home ground for Acura. And I think it’s fantastic to take the win here for Acura, as we just did.”

In GTD, it was the #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus of Aaron Telitz and Benjamin Pedersen that gave redemption to the stable following the #89 being stripped of its pole on Friday, claiming the class win.

The first half of the race’s story was driven by Robert Wickens. Wickens, taking over pole position following post-technical inspection, led every lap while he was behind the wheel and built a lead of over six seconds following a penalty to Russell Ward in his #57 Winward Mercedes-AMG.

Wickens would eventually come in for a pit stop, ultimately putting Mason Filippi in charge of bringing the car home to the finish.

However, multi-class traffic ended up playing the deciding factor, shuffling Filippi down the GTD field to a sixth-place finish.

Further down the GTD order, Gradient Racing’s Corey Lewis, in his #66 Ford Mustang, was involved in a heavy collision coming out of the final hairpin turn, resulting in the front end of the car coming off. The incident brought out the fifth and final caution of the race, setting up a final run to the checkered flag with seven minutes to go. Lewis and Jake Walker finished 16th on the afternoon.

The rest of the podium included Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher in the #96 Turner BMW, while Conquest Racing quietly snuck into the final podium spot in their #34 Ferrari with Manny Franco and Albert Costa.

“Absolutely incredible,” said Benjamin Pedersen. “It’s the first time—only my third race with the team—so it’s quite the introduction. Aaron did a great job. Our car was on rails all day. It’s my second time here since being in IndyCar in ’23, and my first time in a GT, so that was a fun day.”

“Yeah, that stint was a lot of fun,” said Aaron Telitz. “As soon as I got in the car, I just had one goal, and that was to get to the front and get this Vasser Sullivan team another victory. We’ve gone a long time, like you touched on, without a win, and everyone on the team felt that. It was awesome to be able to secure that and bring it home.”

The series now shifts north in California in two weeks’ time, as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship heads to Laguna Seca for its more traditional 2-hour and 40-minute sprint race weekend, featuring a throwback feel.

 

Image Courtesy to IMSA/Brandon Badraoui