The ORECA-chassised Acura has been the standout car in the IMSA SportsCar Championship, although crashes have blunted its race results since scoring a 1-2 finish in the Daytona 24 Hours.
Built to LMDh regulations, it has regularly outpaced rivals Cadillac and Porsche that will race at this year’s centenary Le Mans 24 Hours in June.
But the situation is clouded by Acura being an American-only brand, and although the US-based Honda Performance Development concern has strong ties to its Japanese parent company, only Honda Motor Co can sign-off any international activity at F1, MotoGP or Le Mans level.
When asked if he was frustrated by not taking the ARX-06 to Le Mans this year, HPD president David Salters replied: “Yes and no. I think we’re quite ready. It [Le Mans] is a different animal, so we’d need to learn that. You never know where you’re going to be.
“Of course, we’d all love to go, who wouldn’t? But we’re here to look after the US so let’s do a reasonable job of that first. It’s what pays the bills! We’ve got to get to grips with these cars.
“We speak with our Honda Motor colleagues in Japan, they’re quite interested – they love what we are doing – but because it’s global, it’s out of our remit.
“So, it’s what works for Honda Motor, it’s got to be coherent, but it’s in discussion. It’s a big picture thing, it’s up to them to sort out.”
Source: Autosport