Here’s What Its Like To Ride With A Formula One Driver: Behind the Scenes with Acura Racing

We leapt at the chance to go behind the scenes with Acura Racing.

More specifically, Real Time Racing and Team Penske Racing. We were able to see how their operations shaped each team, some of their racing cars in action and a lot more.

One of my favorite parts was spending time with championship racer and Realtime Racing owner Peter Cunningham. He’s won Pikes Peak three times in his class. He’s won over 40 races in nearly a dozen different race series.
[Photo: TFLcar]

The track and the cars

First up, we got a detailed look at the workings of Road America. This included laps around the track, tours of the pits and behind the scenes with track employees and race operations.

This is Road America. a 4-mile, 14-turn track located near Elkhart Lake in Wisconsin. [Photo: Road America]

But of course, just seeing the track itself wasn’t enough. I rode around the track with racing driver Juan Pablo Montoya in an Acura RDX A-Spec. I more or less acted as ballast on that run. Not to mention I provided some entertainment while he tossed me around in the backseat like a ragdoll.

I also drove an Acura NSX with Pikes Peak winner and SCCA champ Peter Cunningham on a tight road course. It was at Road America’s karting track CTECH Manufacturing Motorplex.

Peter Cunningham takes us through his Honda and Acura collection.
[Photo: TFLcar]

We learned about Acura Racing’s three-plus decade racing history. This included lots of SCCA, IMSA and Pikes Peak wins – among others. Finally, I toured an impressive Honda museum/collector’s dealership via Realtime Racing, at the Realtime Collection Hall.

Then I had the chance to get up close and personal with Acura’s racing cars.

Acura NSX GT3 EVO
(Photo: Acura)

NSX GT3 Evo

Acura builds the NSX GT3 Evo’s 3.5-liter, twin-turbocharged V6 alongside that of the production NSX in a special engine room at the company’s Anna, Ohio engine plant. The company also constructs its aluminum-intensive, multi-material space frame alongside the production NSX in Marysville, Ohio.

Racing modifications to the GT3 Evo include a six-speed, sequential-shift racing gearbox, state-of-the-art chassis and aerodynamic package improved for the 2019 season to deliver higher top speed and better handling. 

The GT3 is offered for sale worldwide, with Acura delivering more than a dozen racing machines to professional and amateur sports car racers around the globe.

[Photo: TFLcar]

ARX-05 (Acura Racing eXperimental, generation 5)

The latest in a line of Acura endurance prototypes dating to 1991, the ARX-05 proves Acura’s dedication to prototype racing, and competes in the fastest and most technologically advanced category of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Series.

The ARX-05 prototype is based on the ORECA 07 chassis, and incorporates Acura signature bodywork and design features, like the Jewel Eye LED headlights. Acura’s AR35TT twin-turbocharged engine is based on the standard 3.5-liter V-6 that powers the Acura MDX, TLX and RLX premium performance sedans.