Meyer Shank Racing has announced that Mario Farnbacher will team up with Matt McMurry for the 2020 IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship.
Reigning GTD champion Farnbacher will return to the #86 Acura NSX GT3 Evo, marking his third straight season with the programme. 'Super Mario, as his nickname sounds, recently won the GTD crown alongside Trent Hindman, taking one race victory and four podiums en route to the championship.
“I’m excited to be back with the Meyer Shank Racing guys next year,” Farnbacher said. We had a great 2019 season and we will head into 2020 with the same goal. I’m looking forward to working with Matthew, I know he drove the Acura NSX GT3 EVO in Europe in the Blancpain Endurance series so he has experience with the car.
“I have raced against him and know him from the paddock and I’m looking forward to getting to work with him. As always with a new driver pairing, we will have to get to know each other a little bit better since we have never driven together but hopefully we can do that during some testing which will start soon.”
McMurry is no stranger to the MSR operation as well as the NSX chassis. The 21-year-old raced with the team in 2015, driving a Ligier JS P2-Honda in the Prototype class at that year's Rolex 24 at Daytona and Petit Le Mans. McMurry is also the reigning LMP2 champion with PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports and previously drove the Honda NSX GT3 in the Blancpain GT Series with Jenson Team Rocket RJN.
“It’s an honour to be selected to join the Meyer Shank Racing team again!” said McMurry. “I can’t imagine a better place to be for the 2020 IMSA season than in an Acura NSX GT3 EVO at MSR.
It’s a perfect fit coming from a great run in the NSX in the Blancpain Endurance Championship, a successful internship at Honda Performance Development, and an IMSA LMP2 championship. I’m excited to be driving with Mario this year too, he’s a great guy and I think we’ll make a good team. It’s not often you get two IMSA champions in one car! The Roar Before the 24 is quickly approaching and I couldn’t be more excited!”
“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,” added team boss 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.”
