As the Racers Edge Motorsports with WTRAndretti team tackled the famed bumps at Sebring International Raceway, Ashton Harrison and Mario Farnbacher were focused on closing their championship points gap ahead of the Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS season finale.  

 

Behind the wheel of the No. 93 Harrison Contracting Company Acura NSX GT3 Evo22, both Harrison and Farnbacher knew qualifying positions would be key for the doubleheader race weekend. Harrison was first up to qualify for Saturday’s Race 1 and placed the red Acura in fourth position in class and overall on the grid. Farnbacher’s run for qualifying for Race 2 looked like promising result, but the extremely competitive field saw Farnbacher line up fourth in the field come Sunday.

 

The green flag waved Saturday afternoon as the first race of the weekend with Harrison in the driver’s seat and all signs pointed to a podium finish for the pairing. After Harrison traded the controls of the No. 93 Rely on RED Acura with co-driver Farnbacher, it was head down to power to the finish. Farnbacher steadily reeled in his in-class competition and executed a thrilling pass in Turn 10 for podium position with two laps remaining. But contact from the same competitor just seconds later in Turn 16 forced the Racers Edge Motorsports with WTRAndretti team out of podium contention, resulting in a fourth place finish in the PRO Class. As Sunday’s Race 2 rolled around - the final sprint race on the 2023 calendar – Harrison and Farnbacher were keen to turn their luck around and finish the weekend strong, but the team experienced a mechanical issue on the formation laps that forced Farnbacher to bring the No. 93 Harrison Contracting Company Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 to pit lane and retire from Race 2.

 

The 2023 Fanatec GT World Challenge America season will conclude with the eight-hour endurance race on the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on October 5-7, 2023.

 

Ashton Harrison:

“Obviously super bummed with how the race ended, or even started. This pushes us back in the championship. Ironically, this is not unfamiliar territory for us considering that last year we went into the PRO|AM Championship with a similar points difference. We will just have to keep our heads down, get ready to push hard at Indy, continue to take charge and try to make up for what we’ve lost this season and hope for a PRO Championship and be back-to-back champs. But if for by chance that doesn’t happen, I know the Racers Edge Motorsports with WTRAndretti team worked hard really hard this year and we’re going to give it our all to win the Indy 8 Hour.” 

 

Mario Farnbacher:

“It’s just unfortunate with our luck this season. I think we had a strong car. Yesterday, we were fighting for third and got punted on the second-to-last lap. Today, with a leak in the water system and an expired engine after the first lap, another strike in the bad luck count, just unfortunate. It’s not over, we still have one race to go with double points and we’re still in the fight, but it’s over when the checkered flag drops in Indy. We will see when the race is over where we are. It’s just unfortunate, we did everything we could, but if there’s no luck, there’s no luck.”

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About Harrison Contracting Company 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.

 

About the HPD Driver Academy Program

The Honda Performance Development (HPD) Driver Academy Program was developed to enable qualified racers to accelerate their racing career via ‘on-track’ and ‘off-track’ training from experienced Acura/Honda professional drivers, HPD-supported teams, and HPD personnel. The program includes sessions in the championship winning Acura NSX GT3 Evo or Honda Civic Type R TCR teaching the special knowledge and various skills required for professional sports car racing. The program is available by application-only and is limited to eight students per year.

 

About Honda Performance Development

Honda Performance Development, Inc., (HPD) has a rich heritage creating, manufacturing, and supporting Honda Racing and Acura Motorsports customers since 1993 from pinnacle racing in INDYCAR and IMSA to commercial racing programs. HPD is a wholly owned subsidiary of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. and leads all of Honda and Acura’s high-performance racing programs in North America, specializing in the design and development of race engines, chassis and performance parts, as well as technical and race support.