Stuart Middleton competed in his maiden Rolex 24 at Daytona last weekend, and was thrilled to become the youngest podium finisher in the history of the race, with the Briton finishing second alongside Felipe Nasr, Eric Curran and Mike Conway in the #31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R.
Ironically, it was Nasr’s record from 2012 that Middleton broke, but for the eighteen-year-old it was a great introduction to endurance racing, which was made possible by winning the 2017 Sunoco Whelen Challenge thanks to his British GT Championship triumph in the GT4 class.
The car finished on the lead lap but like its race-winning sister #5 Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac, it suffered overheating issues, with the time behind the wall and in the garage costing them a lot of time and denying them the chance to fight for the victory, but Middleton was grateful for the opportunity.
“My first time in a prototype race was fantastic,” said Middleton on axracing.com. “I did long stints, I was still learning the Cadillac over my time in the car. I am very happy with the result.
“My first time driving a prototype in a 24-hour race to come second is great. I am very thankful to the team and Sunoco for making possible.”
