Ashton Harrison and Mario Farnbacher tackle the iconic stars and stripes at Circuit of The Americas as the No 93 Harrison Contracting Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 heads to Texas for Rounds 5 and 6 of the Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS 2023 season. The series returns to Austin after a brief hiatus from the event schedule.

Harrison and Farnbacher enter this weekend looking to make moves up the rankings from their third-place position in the Pro class championship after a challenging weekend in New Orleans. The teammates both have previous experience on the 20-turn, 5.5 mile track, as does the team itself. Racers Edge Motorsports with WTRAndretti earned immediate success with the Acura NSX GT3 platform in 2019, securing a pole, a podium, and victory, followed in 2020 by a sweep of the season opener. 

The Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS weekend for 5 and 6 at Circuit of The Americas starts with a test day for all classes on Thursday before official practice begins on Friday, May 19. The green flag flies in Austin on Saturday, May 20 at 3:10 pm and Sunday, May 21, at 2:15pm, both Central Standard Time, and streamed live at GT World on You Tube.

Ashton Harrison:

“I’m excited to be back with the team at COTA. The goal is to regroup from our difficult weekend at NOLA, and get back to work to regain the points we lost from that event. Even though our results weren’t what we wanted, or expected, I still think we made a statement for the Harrison Contracting Acura NSX GT3, in showing the performance of the car, the performance of us as teammates, and what the team is capable of doing on track. So I think it’s just about executing and putting our heads down to focus on the championship, which is obviously the goal. COTA has a lot of complex corners, and I know our NSX will be strong under those conditions. Big shout out to everyone at Racers Edge Motorsports with WTRAndretti for putting in all the overtime to repair the car from uncontrollable damage, so I’m really thankful to them for their commitment to keeping Mario and I up front. So let’s go get some wins. We’re still very much in this championship fight.”

Mario Farnbacher:

“Last time I was at COTA was 2016, so it’s been awhile. I’m sure the track surface has changed a little bit in that time, but the layout and everything else is still pretty much the same. It will be cool to be back there; it’s an F1 track, so has different characteristics than Sonoma and NOLA, for sure. COTA is more of a European track, which ironically I’m not used to anymore since I’ve been driving in the United States since 2014. I’m looking forward to the event, and it’s time to come charging back from the weekend in NOLA. We all expected more from that weekend, but that’s racing sometimes, and that’s in the past. Now we’re looking forward and we’ll try to do our best to make up the ground we lost, and will push with everything we have to get some important championship points. It’s raining here in Germany so I’m also looking forward to the Texas sun!

About Harrison Contracting 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.