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Nasr returns to IMSA action after recovery from COVID-19
Felipe Nasr will return to the cockpit of Action Express Racing’s Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R this weekend at Sebring, after missing the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s second round at Daytona two weeks ago due to a positive Covid-19 test.
David Malsher-Lopez
Edited: Jul 17, 2020, 5:15 PM
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After making a full recovery, he will make his return to the cockpit today during opening practice for the Cadillac Grand Prix at Sebring, which will be another 2hr40min race held tomorrow.
"It was frustrating not to be behind the wheel at Daytona after such a long wait," Nasr said. "In the end, it wasn't something I couldn't control but it happened.
“I did the right thing, which was to tell the team as soon as I felt something different, unusual. I wanted to protect everyone on the Whelen Engineering team, which was my goal.
“It was difficult to watch it [the race] from home. But, I was happy to see the car perform well with Gabby Chaves and Pipo Derani behind the wheel. They were able to score some important points for the championship.
"Now, I'm looking forward to Sebring. I'm super excited to be back in the Whelen Engineering Cadillac with Pipo. I just can't wait to feel the speed, to go around Sebring and feel alive again."
The #31 Cadillac, in the hands of Derani, Nasr and Eric Curran, won the 12-Hours of Sebring a year ago.
"Sebring is a track that I really love," Derani said. "I've had a lot of success there in the past. I've won three 12 Hours of Sebring [races] in the last four years.
“But, I think this time it's going to be different. Instead of it being a 12-hour race, it's going to be only 2 hours and 40 minutes. For sure, strategy is going to play a big role. It's going to be a sprint, which at a track like Sebring, is never easy. With the success we've had there in the past, we expect nothing less [than a win]. Hopefully, we can finally get our championship started. There's nothing better than winning at a track we won at last year."
Nasr described last year’s triumph as “an amazing memory. It was one of the best wins we had with so much dominance and pure speed. I credit that to the whole Action Express team because they do such an incredible job… Action Express has always given us a pretty good car to fight for victories, so I expect more of the same."
IMSA’s first free practice for the Cadillac Grand Prix of Sebring runs on Friday from 6.00pm until 7.00pm ET, FP2 is Saturday 10.00-11.15am, qualifying is 1.55-3.00pm, and the race is 5.35-8.15pm.
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