The Dragonspeed crew are in a race against time to rebuild their Oreca 07 Gibson race car after an incident at Turn 1 for Loic Duval saw the #81 car hit the inside wall with damage left front and rear.
Post session the team realised very quickly that the tub (below) had been damaged beyond repair here at Daytona International Speedway (a sizeable hole punched in the front left of the tub) and immediately sought IMSA approval to replace the tub with the spare from their brand new second car (the original race tub was the upgraded 05 from their 2016 ELMS season).
That approval was rapidly granted and the team are currently preparing the new bare tub (pictured top) for a full rebuild. Dragonspeed have also apparently been given dispensation to work on the car overnight (the pit garages usually operate a 10pm curfew) with none of their drivers requiring night practice laps for the all Pro class.
The team missed Qualifying as repairs got underway and will therefore start from the back of the Prototype class grid for Saturday’s race start
