LONG BEACH, Calif. – In the third round of the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar championship, Nissan power propelled Scott Sharp and Ryan Dalziel to a second-place finish at the prestigious Long Beach Grand Prix.
The result mirrors the ESM team’s finish from last year, where the American/Scottish duo scored Nissan’s first prototype podium of the Daytona Prototype International era.
Starting from eighth position, Sharp had a great first stint in the 100-minute race. Following a quick pit stop, Dalziel took over with the Nissan-powered prototype in fourth place.
After a final splash for fuel, Dalziel set chase after the Acura of Ricky Taylor. After a safety car with 22 minutes to go, the Scotsman pounced on the restart to grab second place.
Dalziel was able to close on the race leader, only to make a small error late in the race.
“Second place two years in a row! It was a bit tougher this year than last year, but we had a great car, and an unbelievably good pit stop,” Dalziel said.
Added Dalziel: “The guys nailed it, and we gained a bunch of places. It was such a great racecar. I made a small mistake, which so many of us did with all the marbles out there. Second place was a good day. It was a rough one for the No. 22 car, so we’ll take it.”
Fabtiastic day for us. We started P8, and finished P2. Amazing job from @PatronESM crew in pit stops and a couple of decent passes from myself haha. Such a good day for us after two bad races in a row. Great rebound weekend for the #2 car. #simplyperfect #Nissan #Patron #Nismo pic.twitter.com/8bJAaMIs8s
— Ryan Dalziel (@ryan_dalziel) April 14, 2018
After starting ninth, the No. 22 Nissan Onroak DPi of Johannes van Overbeek and Pipo Derani fell victim to a random stroke of misfortune.
Debris from another car struck an external button on the car that shifted the transmission onto neutral. The FIA requires this button, which allows the car to be pushed off the track if it stalls on the course. The ESM team initially suspected the car had a transmission problem, only to discover the real cause after the race.
In other Nissan prototype action, GT Academy ace Ricardo Sanchez finished seventh in his Michelin Le Mans Cup debut at Circuit Paul Ricard, while the RLR MSport team took the victory in the LM P3 class in the opening round of this year’s European Le Mans Series – also at Circuit Paul Ricard.
Great work by @RSanchezGP to finish 7th in his @LeMansCup debut this weekend. Next weekend he goes from LM P3 to GT3 with @PlayStationEU GT Sport @motul Team RJN in @BlancpainGT.#NISMOnation pic.twitter.com/8QRofF3byl
— Nissan NISMO (@NISMO) April 16, 2018
NISMO Calendar
April 21-22
- Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup, Monza, Italy
- Virgin Australia Supercars Championship, Phillip Island Victoria, Australia
April 26-29
- Classic Motorsports Mitty, Road Atlanta, Braselton, Georgia (Nissan is featured marque)
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Contact
Anna Teslik
Global Motorsport Marketing and Communications Manager
+33 7 7614 7286
ateslik@nissan-europe.com
Paul Ryan
Marketing and PR Manager
1-678-644-0404
paul@nismosupport.com