Following a disappointing Rolex 24 at Daytona, where the #2 Tequila Patrón ESM team suffered mechanical woes and an early retirement, the trio of Scott Sharp, Ryan Dalziel and Olivier Pla are eager to get their season back on track this weekend around the Sebring International Raceway for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.
The Nissan Onroak DPi completed only ten of the twenty-four hours at Daytona, but team owner Sharp, who was victorious alongside Ed Brown, Johannes van Overbeek and Luis Felipe Derani at Sebring in 2016, is determined for the team to rebound strongly this weekend.
“Daytona was a big disappointment to the Tequila Patrón ESM team, but everyone has worked so hard since,” said Sharp. “We tested well and are ready for the Twelve Hours of Sebring this Saturday!
“From the test its obvious the field will be incredibly tight, with most of the Prototype entries in the run to win. It will be an incredible fight!”
Scotsman Dalziel said the team has been working hard since Daytona to rectify the issues they faced in January, and after a positive test at Sebring, he is excited to see where the team are in relation to the rest of the Prototype class this weekend.
“Obviously we were extremely disappointed with our Daytona result,” said Dalziel. “Since January, Tequila Patrón ESM has worked like crazy to address the issues that arose, and we had a really great test at Sebring a few weeks ago.
“With no official timing it’s hard to know where we stack up against the competition but without a doubt we left there with one of the best handling cars I’ve ever driven around the bumpy track, so I’m really excited and confident about what we have for this weekend.
“For me, Sebring is always a little more special since my wife is from there and we have a lot of local supporters for myself and our Florida based team.”
Frenchman Pla says Sebring is amongst his favourite events of the season, and concurs with his team-mates that with the work they have put in since Daytona, they can head into this weekends event in a positive frame of mind.
“Sebring is one of my favourite races of the year and one of my favourite tracks too!” said Pla. “The competition, as always, will be intense and a lot of thing can happen.
“We worked hard in the last test to make sure we have a good race car over this special place and we feel ready to go and race hard!”
