ROAR Before the 24 – Tequila Patrón ESM Ready to tackle the 24 Hours of Daytona

The boys are back with new cars, a new team name and some new drivers! Tequila Patrón ESM is ready to take on the 24 Hours of Daytona this weekend.

Tequila Patrón ESM logged the first miles of its 2015 season at the Roar Before the Rolex 24 preseason test at Daytona International Speedway. The three-day test marked the public debut of the all-new Honda Performance Development ARX-04b (HPD) coupe in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship series.

Scott Sharp, Ed Brown, Johannes van Overbeek, Ryan Dalziel, Jon Fogarty and David Heinemeier Hansson shared driving duties of the carbon fiber black No. 2 Tequila Patrón HPD coupe. The No. 2 machine will be driven by Brown, van Overbeek and Fogarty in the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup races of the TUDOR Championship.

The first HPD coupe was delivered to Tequila Patrón ESM in December 2014. Since then, the Florida-based team worked non-stop to ensure the racing machine was ready to go for the first test session of 2015. While the team was in Daytona this weekend, the second coupe, the No. 1 Tequila Patrón machine, was delivered. Splitting the team between on-track action and vehicle build at the shop, Tequila Patrón ESM still made tremendous gains with both cars.

The team’s performance improved with each test session, and made considerable progress in getting a feel for the new race car. Light rain during Sunday morning’s session gave the team the option to run several laps in the rain and test the ARX-04b’s wet weather systems and capabilities.

The season-opening Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona takes place January 24-25. Before Tequila Patrón ESM returns to Daytona, the team will focus on the next major steps in preparation for the upcoming endurance race, including data review from this week’s test, making appropriate changes to the No. 2 coupe, completing the No. 1 coupe and finishing the livery on both cars.

For the 2015 season, the Tequila Patrón ESM team has submitted two entries to the FIA WEC, along with the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup races of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.