(Braselton, Ga.) Oct. 14, 2023 – As the Racers Edge Motorsports with WTRAndretti team entered the final event of the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup, it was all focus on the finishing the year on a high note at the MOTUL Petit Le Mans. The trio of Ashton Harrison, Kyle Marcelli and Danny Formal reunited to climb back aboard the No. 93 Harrison Contracting Company Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 for the famed 10-hour endurance season finale and hoped to put on a show for the over 100 Harrison Contracting Company employees onsite.
For the MOTUL Petit Le Mans, it was a tight and competitive field of 52 entries – 19 of which in the GTD class. Kyle Marcelli put his previous Petit Le Mans expertise to work as the Canadian piloted the No. 93 Rely On RED Acura in wet, slick and tricky qualifying conditions to land 10th on the grid in the GTD class for the 10-hour event. As Saturday’s weather proved better than that of qualifying, Marcelli took the green flag in the No. 93 Harrison Contracting Company Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 with the goal to advance further up the field. Within the first 15 minutes of the race, the No. 93 team encountered a mechanical issue with the power steering on the car and Marcelli came to pit lane for the team to address the issue. As the Racers Edge Motorsports with WTRAndretti team surveyed the issue, it became evident that the team needed to take the No. 93 Acura back to the garage to fix the issue. With quick work by the Racers Edge Motorsports with WTRAndretti team, Marcelli headed back out on track before the first hour mark.
With the mechanical issue addressed and fixed, it was full focus on persevering forward to regain as many laps as possible from the 20 laps while behind the wall in the garage. Ashton Harrison hoped into the red Acura for her first laps at the MOTUL Petit Le Mans, her home race, shortly after Marcelli went back on track. Harrison was able to click away at laps around the 2.54-mile road course before handing off the reins to teammate, Danny Formal, for his first stint at the wheel within the first three hours of racing. Once all three drivers got their first stint inside the driver’s seat, it became a mission to earn as many laps back to the GTD leader as possible. Through the second half of the race, the trio and Racers Edge Motorsports with WTRAndretti team displayed tried and true perseverance to collect five laps back on the 20-lap deficit. In the final hour of the famed event, Marcelli retook control of the cockpit and was able to set the fastest GTD lap of the race with a time of 01:20.248 on Lap 340.
The No. 93 Harrison Contracting Company Acura NSX GT3 Evo22’s campaign in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup comes to an end with Saturday’s event and the entire Racers Edge Motorsports with WTRAndretti team can be very proud of the effort, both at the MOTUL Petit Le Mans and all year long.
No. 93 Harrison Contracting Company Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 DRIVER QUOTES:
Ashton Harrison:
“Petit Le Mans: love you, hate you. Super proud of the Racers Edge Motorsports with WTRAndretti team to make up those laps that we went down so badly at the beginning of the race. That’s just another race of our year that we’ve had to really put our heads down and charge forward. I’m really proud of everyone and thankful to the entire Racers Edge Motorsports with WTRAndretti crew for all the hard work they’ve put in this weekend and all year and looking forward to what’s to come. Thank you to HPD, our Acura NSX was flying. Kyle set the fastest lap and obviously, we had speed, it’s just a bummer that we weren’t able to push toward the front more. I appreciate all my friends and family from Harrison Contracting coming out to Road Atlanta – our home track and my first Petit Le Mans and looking forward to the next one.”
Kyle Marcelli:
“What a long day it was. For the crew, the drivers. We had some gremlins starting in Thursday evening practice. Power steering was randomly cutting out and the guys worked to change all steering components. We thought we were in good shape to start the race, but unfortunately, it continued to act up, so we had to go behind the wall basically on the first lap of the race. We spent about 20-30 minutes back there, found the issue, and got back in the race 20 laps down. Then we just put our heads, enjoyed the race. The guys on the box treated the race as though we were fighting to win in terms of strategy, pit stops, and the drivers managed the race as though if we were fighting for a win. We finished the 10 hours with not a scratch on the car, fast lap of the race and 15 laps down, so we made up five laps. A great effort from everybody at Racers Edge Motorsports with WTRAndretti. Just bittersweet with those gremlins we had to deal with early on. Personally, from my side, it was fun year to share the car with Ashton and Danny and I look forward to more of that in the future.”
Danny Formal:
“What a weekend. All the little gremlins that can happen, happened. We went out this morning in warm up in the wet, was able to go P1 and the car felt pretty good. We did have a little bit of a power steering issue. We thought we fixed it. Unfortunately, we didn’t. We went 20 laps down at the beginning of the race. We kept fighting and fighting. We finished the race 15 laps behind. My stints felt really good, really good pace. The Racers Edge Motorsport with WTRAndretti team never stopped working and gave us a fantastic car. The race pace was just phenomenal. I was able to do a great lap in my last stint and pass a bunch of GTD and GTD PRO cars. I’m so happy for Kyle getting fast lap of the race. Our late pit stop – we put him in the car, and he sent it then we got a purple sector. Excited whatever comes next.”
About Harrison Contracting
Harrison Contracting Company, Inc. (HCC) is a commercial painting and facility maintenance contracting company headquartered in Villa Rica, GA with divisional offices in Florida and Texas. HCC provides repainting/reimaging and facility maintenance services nationwide, and new construction painting across the southeastern US. At HCC, red is more than the company color, its culture. RED stands for Reliable, Experienced, and Diligent, and is the cornerstone for all we do. We are more than just your painter; we are your partner.
Racers Edge Motorsports with WTRAndretti is also proudly sponsored by Acura Motorsports and Honda Performance Development (HPD).
