ELMS Team DragonSpeed Win LMP2 Class at Daytona

It was the top honours for the only ELMS team entered in the 24-Hour race in Florida as DragonSpeed finished first in the LMP2 category and 9^th overall, with ELMS regulars Ben Hanley, Henrik Hedman, Harrison Newey and their American teammate Colin Braun standing on the top step of the podium.

The no81 DragonSpeed Oreca 07-Gibson had to battle for most of the race with the pole sitting no52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Oreca of Simon Trummer, Ben Keating, Nick Boulle and former ELMS racer Gabriel Aubry.

“I’m the only American racing rookie here, this is my first time to Daytona,” Harrison Newey said. “It looks like a simple track on paper, but there are a lot of nuances that could cost you a lot of time. All these guys really brought me up to speed and got me comfortable. There were no secrets, and I think that’s what put us on the top step.”

There was ELMS representation on all three steps of the LMP2 podium at Daytona with Idec Sport’s Nic Minassian finishing third in the no18 Era Motorsport Oreca alongside American Dwight Merriman and British duo Kyle Tilley and Ryan Lewis.

2015 ELMS LMGTE Vice Champion Jesse Krohn won the GTLM class in the no24 BMW Team RLL BMW M8 alongside teammates John Edwards, Chaz Mostert and Augusto Farfus.

“It’s stressful,” said Jesse Krohn. “I had little sleep through the night. It was all on my shoulders in the end. I didn’t want to be the guy who finishes second and denies these guys the watches. I put my head down. I didn’t know how we did it. I’m out of words. No mistakes from anyone at BMW RLL. This is what it takes to win the race.”

The overall podium at Daytona also featured ELMS drivers with 2018 4 Hours of Le Castellet winner Olivier Pla finishing second in Florida in the DPi class no77 Mazda Team Joest RT24-P alongside American Tristan Nunez and Britain’s Oliver Jarvis.  Loïc Duval stood on the third step of the podium after he and his teammates completed 833 laps in the no5 JDC Motorsports Cadillac DPi-V.R.

CLICK HERE for the results from the 2020 24 Hours of Daytona.