Spirit of Daytona to Skip Long Beach IMSA Contest
A late race crash at Sebring ended the Spirit of Daytona team’s chances at a podium and attending the next round at Long Beach.
The Spirit of Daytona Racing team has achieved some success at the beginning of the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in the team's No. 90 Cadillac DPi-V.R. The Drive previously covered the team securing the pole position for the 12 Hours of Sebring, but a crash ended its chances at an eventual podium. The crash is forcing the Spirit of Daytona team to skip competing at Long Beach and get ready for the following race at Belle Isle.
The crash occurred with only two hours remaining in the 12 Hours of Sebring while Tristan Vautier was driving the team's front-running prototype.
Team owner Troy Flis gave a statement on the move saying, "The team has made the difficult decision to forgo the Long Beach Grand Prix event on April 13-14 to regroup and prepare for its return to IMSA competition."
"Unfortunately, racing provides the highest of highs and lowest of lows and at Sebring, we experienced both. We are most thankful that Tristan was not injured in the crash. Our Cadillac did its job of protecting the driver but the amount of damage to the car is extensive." He continued, "Due to several circumstances we will not be able to attend the Long Beach event in April but we will regroup, rebuild and come back stronger than ever."
After the sportscar Grand Prix at Long Beach, the next race for the Spirit of Daytona outfit will come on June 2 in Detroit, Michigan.