MORRIS ELATED WITH FIRST TASTE OF 'SPECIAL' DAYTONA RACEWAY AND MAIDEN 200MPH EXPERIENCE DURING ROLEX 24 TEST
Welshman thrilled with first drive of new Cadillac DPi-VR prototype Morris experiences 200mph top speed first time in motorsport career GT ace relishing Daytona return in January for ‘ROAR before the 24’
Christmas came early for racing driver Seb Morris this week with a visit to Daytona International Raceway in America for his first test at the wheel of the brand new Cadillac DPi-VR prototype, run by top team Action Express Racing, he will pilot in January’s prestigious Rolex 24.
Awarded with a fully-funded prize drive in one of the globe’s biggest endurance races after winning this year’s Sunoco Whelen Challenge, the 21-year-old travelled to Florida for his maiden run at the famous banked circuit which will be the venue for his first twice-round-the-clock encounter.
Getting to grips with his new environment in double-quick time, the Marford driver delivered an expectedly professional and assured performance as the 6.2-litre V8 Whelen Engineering backed Cadillac was put through its paces around the awesome 31-degree banked course.
Joining vastly experienced team-mates Eric Curran and Dane Cameron, the WeatherTech SportsCar Champions, and Toyota factory LMP1 driver Mike Conway, Curran actually went on to set the fastest lap of the test on the second day (Wednesday, 14th December), a time of 1m37.797 seconds which was a third of a second quicker than the sister Action Express car.
“It was such fun – really, really special”, said Seb, “We had a few technical issues early on day one but everything went well after that and I had about 20 or so laps in the car. When you get onto the banking for the first time, words can’t really describe what that feeling is like.
“The Cadillac is mega quick, I likened it to a World Series [Formula Renault 3.5] car with the acceleration but without the aero drag so the car keeps pulling and pulling. You’re in sixth gear within 16 seconds and you look at the readout and see you’re doing 200mph, that’s something I’ve never done and one of the things I’ve always wanted to achieve ticked off the list.”
Following the Christmas and New Year break, Seb will return to Daytona for the ‘ROAR before the Rolex 24’ between Friday, 6th January, and Sunday, 8th January, where the Action Express team will compete and make final preparations for the blue riband Rolex 24 on 28th/29th Janaury.
“I’m really looking forward to being back at Daytona for the ROAR, we’ll work to get a good base level set-up there and hopefully use the weekend to find a solid platform for the Rolex 24”, added Seb, “The experience has been amazing so far, huge thank you to Sunoco and Whelen for such an incredible opportunity and, of course, to the guys at Action Express Racing.”
