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After leading early, ESM loses both cars by Hour 8 at Sebring

A tough few weeks haven't gotten easier for ESM at Sebring today.

#1 Extreme Speed Motorsports HPD ARX-04b Honda: Scott Sharp, Ryan Dalziel, David Heinemeier Hansson

#1 Extreme Speed Motorsports HPD ARX-04b Honda: Scott Sharp, Ryan Dalziel, David Heinemeier Hansson

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#1 Extreme Speed Motorsports HPD ARX-04b Honda: Scott Sharp, Ryan Dalziel, David Heinemeier Hansson
#1 Extreme Speed Motorsports HPD ARX-04b Honda: Scott Sharp, Ryan Dalziel, David Heinemeier Hansson
Ryan Dalziel
#1 Extreme Speed Motorsports HPD ARX-04b Honda: Scott Sharp, Ryan Dalziel, David Heinemeier Hansson
#2 Extreme Speed Motorsports HPD ARX-04b Honda: Ed Brown, Johannes van Overbeek, Jon Fogarty

Sebring, Fla. - Extreme Speed Motorsports has had a difficult few weeks with the development of their new HPD ARX-04b coup needing more time. As a result, they are switching to Ligier, but that chassis won't be ready until Spa, so they've had to scramble to get their 2014 ARX-03bs ready for Sebring and Silverstone.

Neither one of their new prototypes was able to complete the Rolex 24.

A strong start precedes premature end

With such a time crunch, it's a feat that they even made it to the track this weekend, but driver Ryan Dalziel went beyond that putting the No. 1 on the front row for the race. The car also led the early portion of the race before mechanical gremlines crept back up on the team.

After an ECU failure, the car lost touch with the leaders as the team reviewed the gearshift control system. The No. 1 returned to the race only to suffer a steering failure that ended their day. The No. 2 soldiered on for a few more hours, running a solid fourth and on the lead lap.

But just as the race hit the eighth hour, that car too made its way behind the wall, retiring from the race with a loss of power. 

Drivers still proud of the effort

"Cant be disappointed at all," said Dalziel on Twitter. "Most teams had months to prepare, we had two weeks. Couldnt be prouder of ESM."

"We had the car, the line-up, and the pace to contend. But that's Sebring - harsh & unforgiving," said driver David Heinemeier Hansson. 

"Tough day for ESM. Lost power in the 2. Drove the last two hours down on power ... Great job to Jon Fogarty and ESM," added Johannes van Overbeek.

 

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