Following a pair of second-place finishes where the opportunity for victory was tantalizingly close but unachieved, the drivers of the No. 86 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura NSX GT3 were determined to make it happen in Saturday’s GT Daytona (GTD) portion of the Grand Prix of Road Atlanta.
Farnbacher drove the final two hours of the six-hour race at Michelin Raceway, pulling away to win by 2.451 seconds after co-drivers Shinya Michimi and Matt McMurry put the No. 86 in position to win. It’s the first victory of the 2020 WeatherTech Championship season and moved Farnbacher and McMurry into sole possession of the GTD points lead.
The No. 86 finished second in the two most recent races – at Road America and VIRginia International Raceway – with chances eluding Farnbacher to secure the wins. A lightning-fast pit stop when Farnbacher took the wheel with just under two hours remaining Saturday pushed him ahead of the No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 and, this time, Farnbacher wasn’t to be denied. He built a comfortable lead and wasn’t even deterred by the late full-course caution that bunched the field.
All to the relief of his teammates.
“It feels really awesome,” said McMurry, who collected career win No. 7. “All the other races were great results and we came in here leading the championship. But that first place really gave us a good gap to second place in the points, so I think we’re in a really good position now to keep doing what we’ve been doing … and go for another championship.”
Farnbacher was part of the GTD champion team in 2019 and is eager to repeat. He and McMurry broke from a tie with AIM Vasser Sullivan driver Jack Hawksworth with Saturday’s triumph. Farnbacher was relieved to get the win following the recent near misses, and gave full credit to his teammates and crew.
“Today, our pit crew was the key to success,” he said. “They just (nailed) every pit stop and this was definitely one of the keys factors, plus these two guys (Michimi and McMurry) did an amazing job. No mistakes, keep the car clean and just been there where we have to be.”
Michimi is joining the No. 86 effort for the four IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup races. Saturday’s victory is his first in IMSA competition.
“I can’t even begin to describe it,” he said. “I’ve watched IMSA for a really long time, specifically the Daytona 24 (Hours). Finally getting a chance to run in it for the four races this year was a big step. Now winning a race, I really can’t even explain (what it means), to be honest.”