Extreme Speed Motorsports (ESM) and Tequila Patrón earned its second consecutive FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) podium. On Sunday afternoon in China, the No. 30 Tequila Patrón Honda Performance Development ARX-03b (HPD) team of Scott Sharp, Ryan Dalziel and Ricardo Gonzalez finished second in the FIA WEC 6 Hours of Shanghai.
In its two FIA WEC races, ESM earned two podium finishes. In September, Sharp, Dalziel and Ed Brown finished third at the FIA WEC race at Austin, Texas’ Circuit of The Americas. The FIA WEC 6 Hours of Shanghai marked ESM’s final race in the HPD ARX-03b prototypes. In May, ESM purchased two HPD ARX-04b coupe prototypes to be used in 2015.
It was an adventurous trip for the Florida-based team. The weekend opened with rain during the first two practice sessions. Saturday’s final practice and qualifying were dry but the shortest segments of the weekend. The first time the team had at-length on-track action was during today’s race which also proved to be challenging. The track lacked grip and throughout the six-hour event, the preferred racing line became very narrow.
The No. 30 team qualified in the sixth spot. In the opening minutes of the race, Dalziel leap-frogged from sixth to second before a full course caution for contact between an LMP2 and GTE car. The full-course caution period lasted 21 minutes.
The No. 30 team drivers ran approximately two hour stints and never fell below fourth place in class. Gonzalez dropped to third in his stint but remained strong. Sharp had some bodywork come loose during his two-hour stint. He pitted earlier than scheduled to make the necessary repairs. Sharp reached second before the final driver change to Dalziel with 40 minutes remaining on the race clock.
While running second, Dalziel needed fuel to complete the race. With 20 minutes remaining, the Scotsman pitted and the fast-working No. 30 team serviced the Tequila Patrón-sponsored Honda. It would be the seventh stop for the team. Despite the late-race fuel splash, the ESM team got Dalziel back on track without losing second place.
“I think racing FIA WEC in China was everything we hoped it to be,” stated Sharp. “We wanted to come and learn. We were thrown so many curveballs this weekend. Fortunately, Ryan and Ricardo had driven here before, but as a team, we’ve never been to China, so everything was brand new for Ed, Johannes and me. We chased the setup with the car, tires and track. We learned so much both on- and off-track, including the logistics just to get us here.”
The No. 31 Tequila Patrón Honda Performance Development ARX-03b started from the fifth position. David Brabham gained a spot and ran his two-hour stint in fourth position. Struggling with the same low-grip track issues, Brabham ran a strong and consistent stint before the No. 31 team cycled through the driver lineup.
Johannes van Overbeek ran a two-hour stint, pitting once for fuel and minor adjustments. He maintained a fourth-place effort before the scheduled driver change to Brown.
Brown, in his second FIA WEC race, ran a competitive stint before the final driver change to Brabham. In the closing 45 minutes, Brabham posted some of the quickest laps of the No. 31 team’s race. At the end of the six-hour race, the No. 31 Tequila Patrón HPD finished fifth.
“What a great experience for the team to be able to race in Shanghai,” added Brown. “It was a tough week for track time because of the weather but both cars did awesome!”
On Friday evening, Tequila Patrón and ESM recognized Brabham and his 30-year motorsports career during a special reception. Brown, president and CEO of Patrón Spirits International, presented Brabham with a one-of-a-kind personalized bottle of Gran Patrón Platinum.
“I have to thank ESM and Tequila Patrón for helping to clear cobwebs out after seven months out of the seat! It was great to race with the team again,” Brabham added. “We had a solid result considering it was the first time for ESM to race in China. It was tricky out there with a low-grip track, but we can be happy with second- and fifth-place finishes.”
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.
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