Tom Blomqvist put the #60 Acura ARX-06 on pole today at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, and Nick Yelloly slotted the #93 right behind him. It is a fine way to end a program, and Acura’s GTP effort ends Saturday when the checkered flag drops on the 2026 Petit Le Mans.
The qualifying result is Acura’s second front-row lockout of the season, following the same 1-2 sweep at Road America in August. Blomqvist’s pole is his second in a row this year and his second consecutive pole specifically at Petit Le Mans, after also starting from the top spot in 2025. It is Acura’s 45th pole position in IMSA since the brand returned to the series in 2017, and the last before the GTP program pauses indefinitely.
Yelloly, who will share the #93 with Renger van der Zande and five-time IndyCar champion Alex Palou, called the result bittersweet. “It was a great qualifying result as we see this program come to an unfortunate end,” he said. “Tom did a great lap and got the pole there. I thought I had it, but then I saw him pop up on the last lap.” The #93 is running the commemorative ‘Thank You’ livery Acura designed to close out 10 years and 33 victories in IMSA competition.
Blomqvist and Colin Braun have yet to win this season and are joined for Saturday’s race by six-time NTT INDYCAR Series champion Scott Dixon, a combination that gives the #60 as much outright talent as any entry on the grid. Blomqvist converted a pole at Indianapolis into a fifth-place finish two weeks ago, the #93 falling to seventh after two separate on-track incidents. A clean run at Road Atlanta would give the program a better send-off than its penultimate round managed.
The weight of the occasion is hard to miss. Acura announced in April that it would pause the GTP program after the 2026 season, and the team has spent the final two rounds running cars dressed in tribute liveries rather than standard sponsor graphics. Saturday’s race is the last competitive start for the ARX-06 in its current form, and the 45-pole, 33-win, 14-championship résumé will not grow after the flag drops.
For context on what Acura is stepping away from: the ARX-06 has been competitive from its first season in the GTP class in 2023, and the front-row result today puts it among the fastest cars at Road Atlanta heading into a 10-hour race. Whether that speed converts to a victory in the finale is the one thing left unresolved.
The 2026 Petit Le Mans airs live on NBC from 12 to 3 PM ET Saturday, with continuing coverage through 10:30 PM on NBCSN and flag-to-flag streaming on Peacock.
Acura announced in April it was pausing the program. Today, it qualified first and second for the last time. Saturday, it races.
Source: Acura. Images courtesy of Acura.
