Early Exit for Tequila Patrón ESM at Rolex 24 - Speedway Digest

Tequila Patrón ESM might have exited the 53rd Rolex 24 at Daytona earlier than expected, but the team is leaving with confidence in the new Honda Performance Development (HPD) ARX-04b coupes. Despite two DNFs on the official results, the team has more experience with the new cars that can be used as preparation for the next race at Sebring International Raceway in March.

The No. 1 Tequila Patrón HPD of Scott Sharp, Ryan Dalziel and David Heinemeier Hansson started from the 16th position. Since the team did not participate in qualifying on Thursday, the IMSA rule book states the team must start at the end of the Prototype and Prototype Challenge categories. The No. 1 suffered an issue in the bell housing during Thursday’s morning practice that prevented it from participating in qualifying.

The No. 1 Tequila Patrón crew installed a new bell housing and engine early Friday morning just in time to turn laps in the final practice session. By the time the green flag dropped on Saturday morning, there were less than two hours of Daytona track time on the No. 1 race car.

Dalziel started the race and reached eighth position in 32 minutes. He ran for nearly two hours before a scheduled driver change to Sharp, as the No. 1 team double-stinted the early hours of the race. Sharp ran nearly two hours before turning the car over to Heinemeier Hansson in third position. Heinemeier Hansson kept the team running in the top-10, two laps behind the leaders.

Dalziel started his second stint in eighth place and two laps down. In an impressive triple stint late into Saturday, three caution periods and quick-thinking pit strategies enabled Dalziel to advance into the top-five. Dalziel pitted while in second place for Sharp to begin his second stint.

Sharp was shuffled back in the field during the pit stop. During his triple stint, two more caution periods and pit stop strategies allowed him to regain laps and track position, and be credited with leading one lap during the race. It marked the first time the HPD coupe led a race lap. Sharp kept his top-five run throughout the remainder of his stint.

Heinemeier Hansson started his second stint of the race shortly after 12:30 a.m., and ran a double. Near the halfway point of the race, Heinemeier Hansson spun in Turn 3 and made contact with the tire barrier, but was able to free himself from the barrier and rejoin the race. Following a quick caution, Heinemeier Hansson was behind a competitor car that checked-up on a restart. Heinemeier Hansson also checked-up, locked the tires and made contact with the wall. He drove to the garage for the team to replace the damaged nose. A driver change to Dalziel was made upon repair completion.

Dalziel returned to the race and several laps later reported to the crew there was an issue with the gearbox. Dalziel brought the No. 1 car to the garage and the team disassembled the race car and determined there was a problem with the transmission. The team attempted to repair the damaged gearbox, but upon further inspection, the team opted to retire from the race at 5 a.m. to prevent further damage to the car.

Despite the early retirement, the No. 1 Tequila Patrón team made considerable progress with the new HPD and ultimately led the race in the competition debut of the HPD coupe.

“We were much more competitive than we expected,” added driver/owner Scott Sharp. “We know there are areas that we need to work on and further develop. The Rolex 24 At Daytona was really the first true test for this car. There are a lot of positives, but we also have a lot of work ahead of us.”

The race ended much sooner for the No. 2 Tequila Patrón HPD team of Ed Brown, Johannes van Overbeek and Jon Fogarty.

In the opening stint, van Overbeek advanced from the 12th starting position to sixth place. He pitted once for fuel and tires and then strategically pitted under caution for fuel. Approximately 40 minutes later, van Overbeek radioed the crew about oil pressure drops. He slowed on the track and was instructed by the crew to take the car to the garage.

The No. 2 crew diagnosed the issue as a systems failure that caused the race car to lose power and retired from the race after one hour and 43 minutes.

“We definitely have one of the hardest working crews in the paddock and they pulled out all the stops to get us ready for each session, qualifying and the race,” stated Ed Brown. “These guys are amazing. I just wish we could have given them a solid finish to reward their efforts.”

Although neither Tequila Patrón HPD completed the 24 Hours at Daytona, the team walks away from Daytona with a better understanding of the new racing machines.

“We learned a lot this weekend. We have plenty of time to work out the new car before Sebring,” concluded van Overbeek.

Round 2 of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship and second race of the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup takes place during the 63rd Annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida at Sebring International Raceway on March 18-21, 2015.

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Adam Sinclair

NHRA, IHRA, Motocross and other forms of motorsports Staff writer
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.