PWC: Acura NSX GT3 to make test debut at Mid-Ohio

Acura and RealTime Racing will debut the Acura NSX GT3 on Thursday and Friday during official Pirelli World Challenge testing and practice sessions at Mid-Ohio. The twin-turbo V6-powered supercar has been given permission by PWC to share the track prior to qualifying and gather track data with the rest of the cars in its GT category.

Dutch GT veteran Peter Kox was also announced as the official development driver for the Acura NSX GT3, and after his testing duties are completed on Friday, the NSX development chassis will be displayed in the Mid-Ohio paddock during this weekend's combined PWC and IndyCar event.

“Based on a very successful test program, we’re taking the next logical step in seeing how we stack-up against the competition,” said Art St. Cyr, president of Honda Performance Development. “Mid-Ohio seemed like the perfect opportunity, given the demands it places on a racecar and its proximity to NSX R&D and manufacturing.”

St. Cyr confirmed the car will be shipped to France in September for official FIA homologation testing at the LaDoux circuit, and reaffirmed the plans by Acura and HPD to campaign the car in at least one North American sportscar series in 2017.

"Right now we're still in the stages of determining the who's and the what's of where we're going to run in 2017," St. Cyr told RACER. "All I can confirm right now is that we absolutely are running it in 2017. As far as which series, which teams, and that kind of stuff, we have some finalists but we haven't had final approval, so we're not ready to announce that at this time, but that will be coming fairly shortly."

St. Cyr also said he does not expect to see the NSX GT3 race before the end of the year due to its lack of FIA homologation.

It's believed RealTime Racing will field a PWC GT program for Acura/HPD in 2017, and it's also understood that a list of potential candidates to run the NSX GT3 in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT Daytona class has been narrowed down to two teams.