PATASKALA, Ohio – Mario Farnbacher and Matthew McMurry will share the No. 86 Acura NSX GT3 EVO next year during the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season for Meyer Shank Racing.
The championship winning squad will look to continue its strong record of success with Acura, Acura Motorsports and Honda Performance Development as the team focuses on earning podium winning results in the Acura NSX GT3 EVO.
Reigning IMSA WeatherTech GT Daytona champion Farnbacher will rejoin the Ohio-based team for the third straight season. Farnbacher’s first year at MSR (2018) saw him take on endurance duties in the No. 93 Acura NSX GT3. The German ace was also recruited to make two starts in the team’s sister No. 86 Acura NSX GT3 at Detroit and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca which saw him and Katherine Legge respectively take a victory and third place finish.
Farnbacher’s role expanded this year with a full season drive alongside Trent Hindman. The pair won the Sahlen’s Six Hours of Watkins Glen and claimed four additional podium finishes on the way to clinching the IMSA GTD Team and Driver Championships at the season finale Motul Petit Le Mans. The Championship was the first full season professional championship victory for Meyer Shank Racing and Farnbacher.
A familiar face will return to MSR alongside Farnbacher as McMurry steps into the No. 86 Acura NSX GT3 EVO. The youngest driver to start and finish the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans at 16 years old, McMurry had two Prototype starts with MSR in 2015 at Daytona and the Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
McMurry’s talent expands across the sports car racing field, competing in everything from Prototypes, to Prototype Challenge machines, to GT cars. The 2019 season saw McMurry claim six wins in IMSA LPM2 competition on the way to winning the LMP2 championship. In addition to competing stateside, McMurry drove an Acura NSX GT3 EVO in the European Blancpain Endurance series in 2019 with race outings at Circuit de Barcelona, 24 Hours of Spa, Circuit Paul Ricard, Silverstone and Monza.
McMurry’s work with HPD extends beyond the competition on track, having just completed a successful 10 week engineering internship with HPD.
“I’m really happy with the lineup that we have in the 86 Acura for next year and am looking forward to building on what we accomplished this season,” said team co-owner Michael Shank. “Mario has done a stellar job and he has been a big asset to this team and getting the championship. Having Matthew come back onboard is also very exciting. He’s had plenty of seat time in the NSX over in Europe this year and he should be able to find his feet quickly over here. As always its an honor to continue our work with Acura Motorsports and HPD. It’s going on four years now and they have been great to work with and we hope that we can continue to deliver results for them next year.”