Podium for Gradient Racing on the Streets of Detroit.

A spirited drive from seventh on the grid delivered a fourth place for Gradient Racing and the #66 Unit Nutrition Honda Performance Development Acura NSX GT3 Evo at the Detroit Grand Prix. After the winning Audi failed post race technical inspection, that fourth place was upgraded to third and the team’s first ever podium in top flight sportscar racing. was secured.

Till Bechtolsheimer qualified the #66 Unit Nutrition Acura NSX GT3 Evo on the fourth row of the GTD grid and he would ultimately start in P7 as one of the Vasser Sullivan Lexus entries was sent to the back of the starting grid.

The tight confines of the Belle Isle street circuit combined with the ultra competitive GTD class delivered a frenetic opening lap and it didn’t take long for things to boil over. Turn 3, on lap one, was the location for the first of a number of incidents and Bechtolsheimer was fortunate to emerge from a multi-car incident unscathed.

The rest of the opening stint was without incident and on Lap 19, Bechtolsheimer pitted under Green Flag conditions in sixth position and handed the car over to the local hero, Marc Miller. The driver from Holland, Michigan rejoined in the midst of the battle for the Top 5 in the GTD in sixth position. That soon became P5 as the Compass 360 Acura was forced to retire. Miller pushed hard for the rest of the race in an effort to catch the Grasser Lamborghini ahead of him and keep the hard charging Lexus of Jack Hawksworth at bay.

With nine minutes to go, the pursuit of the Lamborghini ahead became a quest for the final step of the podium as the leading Turner BMW retired with a broken transmission. Try as he might, Miller was unable to bridge the gap and had to settle for fourth position in GTD and the team’s best finish at the highest level of IMSA competition.

After the podium ceremonies had been completed it was announced that the winning Audi had been moved to the bottom of the results due to a refueling infraction. This meant that the Gradient Racing #66 Unit Nutrition Acura NSX GT3 Evo was promoted to third position, the first time the team from Austin, Texas had reached the podium in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

With two rounds of the IMSA WeatherTech Sprint Championship completed, Gradient Racing sits in fifth place in the GTD standings. The next event will be the WeatherTech 240 at Watkins Glen International on Friday, July 2nd.

Declan Brennan