Prior to Christmas, Tequila Patrón ESM took the first of their two new cars for the 2017 season, the Nissan Onroak DPi, testing at Sebring International Races with Scott Sharp, Ed Brown, Johannes van Overbeek and Ryan Dalziel.
While only one car was ready for the first test, the second will be assembled and ready to go for their next test session.
The DPi programme brings together the expertise of the Tequila Patrón ESM squad, Nissan NISMO, and Onroak who provided the LMP2 chassis for the DPi base with a 3.8 litre V6 engine from Nissan.
Sharp and Dalziel will head up the #2 car with Luis “Pipo” Derani joinging them for the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup races (TPNAEC).
The #22 will be driven by Brown and van Overbeek for the full season with Bruno Senna and Brendon Hartley joining them for the endurance races.
“The entire Tequila Patrón ESM squad was super excited to finally get our hands on the new Nissan Onroak DPi!” said an excited Sharp. “We had a very productive two days and we were able to work through many introductory steps. We’re a bit behind our competition in terms of testing miles, but excited for the challenge ahead with this dynamic package.”
Credit: Tequila Patrón ESM
Team-mate Dalziel added, “The new car performed really well and we got a lot of work done. Day one was challenging as always with a new car, but the good people from Nissan NISMO, Onroak, and Patrón ESM got most of the items fixed and we logged a lot of miles in day two.
“It was really important for us to run these days before the holidays so that we knew what parts need addressed for Daytona. The car was really good to drive and the NISMO engine is awesome. I’m really excited for 2017.”
The excitement of the new car was shared by van Overbeek, “The new Ligier is an evolution of an already good and successful car. The new car, out of the box, is confidence inspiring and easy to drive.
“This also marks the first time working with Nissan and NISMO. They are a committed group and we’ve been impressed with the engine package both in terms of performance and reliability. The 2017 season will have lots of fireworks!” he added.
Credit: Tequila Patrón ESM
This week sees the first official test session of the 2017 season take place at Daytona as the Roar Before the 24 kicks off on Friday 6 January, ahead of the main event at the end of the month (26-29 January) as the team look to defend their 2016 race victory.
Ed Brown added, “I’m very proud of all the teamwork between Tequila Patrón ESM, Ligier, and our new partner Nissan Nismo, to make it all possible. They all did a terrific job to get the car on track! The car showed tremendous promise, and I’m really looking forward to the Roar!”
