In one of the most competitive sessions of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship 2026 season, Nick Yelloly delivered pole position for Round 3, the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, driving the No. 93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06 (Acura/Honda Racing Corporation USA).
He posted a 1:11.626 lap, becoming the only driver to break into the 1:11s during the 15-minute qualifying session.
Top 5 Shows Manufacturer Diversity
The fight for pole went down to the final laps, with Marco Wittmann placing the No. 25 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 (BMW) in second, just 0.030 seconds behind.
Louis Deletraz secured third in the No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series.R (Cadillac) with a 1:11.833 lap.
The top five was completed by:
- 4th: Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 (Porsche)
- 5th: another Acura ARX-06 (Acura)
Four different manufacturers were represented in the top five, highlighting the competitiveness of the GTP class.
Acura Strong at Home but Still Chasing Victory
Despite dominating qualifying, Acura is still chasing its first GTP-era victory at Long Beach since the class returned in 2023.
The Japanese manufacturer, headquartered in nearby Torrance, has a strong history at the event, including a win in 2009, but has yet to convert pole positions into wins in the hybrid era.
Yelloly emphasized the importance of the result: “We haven’t had the results we needed this year, so starting on pole at our home race is huge.”
The British driver, who shares the car with Renger van der Zande, also revealed his affinity for street circuits: “I’ve always enjoyed pushing close to the walls — and today it worked perfectly.”
Qualifying saw just 0.938 seconds covering the entire GTP field, underlining the level of competition.
However, Meyer Shank Racing also faced setbacks, as the No. 60 Acura ARX-06 suffered a crash at Turn 8 in practice, requiring a chassis change and dropping it to 11th on the grid.