By Jeff Olson
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Dane Cameron will continue driving an Acura DPi as it moves to Meyer Shank Racing for the 2021 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season, team officials announced Monday.
Cameron, who has been involved with the Acura ARX-05 Daytona Prototype international (DPi) program since its inception in 2018, will join Olivier Pla in a full-season role in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Acura when the 2021 season opens with the Rolex 24 At Daytona in January.
“I’m excited to join Meyer Shank Racing and continue my relationship with Acura and HPD (Honda Performance Development),” Cameron in a statement released by the team. “I have a lot of experience with the ARX-05 and I know that car inside and out. It’s been really fun to be a part of the development of that car from the very beginning.”
The Acura DPi program is moving from a two-car effort with Acura Team Penske to single-car entries from Meyer Shank Racing and Wayne Taylor Racing during the offseason. Acura and Team Penske, which announced earlier this season that they would not be continuing in 2021, won this year’s DPi driver and team championships with No. 7 drivers Helio Castroneves and Ricky Taylor.
Cameron teamed with Juan Pablo Montoya and Simon Pagenaud to finish second Saturday at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts in the No. 6 Acura Team Penske car, securing the manufacturer’s championship for Acura.
Cameron has recorded three victories and 14 podium finishes for the Acura DPi program. He and Montoya won the 2019 DPi championship. In addition, Cameron won the 2014 GT Daytona (GTD) class championship with Turner Motorsport and the 2016 Prototype title with Action Express Racing.
“It’s proven to be a race winner and a championship winner in 2019,” Cameron said of the ARX-05. “I will certainly do my best to bring everything that I’ve learned about this car to the team and make sure that MSR and everyone gets up to speed quickly.”
This will be the first time Cameron and team co-owner Mike Shank have teamed together.
“I’ve known Mike for quite a while now in IMSA, but I haven’t had the opportunity to drive for him,” Cameron said. “I admire Mike’s passion for the sport. We’ve always talked about putting a program together and it’s cool that we finally worked it out.”
Shank echoed Cameron’s enthusiasm.
“We’re very excited to have Dane join us next year,” Shank said. “He’s proven that he is a top contender in one of the toughest classes out there. Just like what we (MSR) did with the Acura NSX (winning back-to-back GTD titles), he did for the Acura ARX-05. He developed that car and made it a championship-winning car. We’re happy to have him onboard and hopefully work towards bringing home another championship for Acura.”
MSR announced earlier that AJ Allmendinger would return to the team for the 15th straight year and co-drive the No. 60 Acura DPi. The Roar Before the 24 test is set for Jan. 22-24, with the Rolex 24 At Daytona scheduled to begin on Saturday, Jan. 30.