2015 News

Tequila Patrón ESM Completes Le Mans Qualifying

LeMans qualifyingLe Mans, France – Tequila Patrón ESM makes history this weekend as it competes for the first time at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Following Wednesday’s free practice and practice qualifying session, the team improved its pace during Thursday’s final two qualifying sessions. The Florida-based team improved its speed and comfort level with the Ligier JS P2 chassis and the Circuit de la Sarthe en route to 11th and 17th in LMP2 starting positions for the 83rd 24 Hours of Le Mans on Saturday.

Ryan Dalziel posted a lap of 3:42.453 (220.6 kph) which places the No. 30 Rolling Stone Ligier JS P2 Honda team 11th on the LMP2 grid. All three pilots of the No. 30 machine - Dalziel, Scott Sharp and David Heinemeier Hansson -  all have previous starts at Le Mans, with Dalziel earning an LMP2 class win in 2012, and Heinemeier Hansson winning the 2014 GTE AM race.

Jon Fogarty, co-driver of the No. 31 Rolling Stone Ligier JS P2 Honda posted a lap of 3:46.585 (216.5 kph), that was 17th quickest of the LMP2 field. Fogarty and Ed Brown are making their Le Mans debut while Saturday’s race is the fifth appearance for Johannes van Overbeek.
 
Per Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) rules, qualifying takes place over sessions beginning with Wednesday’s two-hour night session. Qualifying continued on Thursday evening with two two-hour session. The fastest lap single lap from all three qualifying sessions serves as the qualifying time and starting race position for each entrant.
 
Of the 56-entrant field, Tequila Patrón ESM is the only two-car American team in the LMP2 class.
 
Green flag for the 83rd 24 Hours of Le Mans at Circuit de la Sarthe is Saturday, June 13, at 3 p.m. Central European Time (10 a.m. ET).

Ride along with Tequila Patrón ESM and Rolling Stone
Viewers will be able to watch qualifying and the race from the on-board camera mounted to the No. 31 Rolling Stone Ligier JS P2 via the FIA WEC second screen app or online at www.fiawec.com.
 
Where to Watch
The 24 Hours of Le Mans will be televised globally and on the FOX Sports Network of channels.
 
For U.S. viewers, the 24 Hours of Le Mans will air on Saturday and Sunday, June 13-14:

Fox Sports 2
June 13 - 8:30 a.m. – noon and 11 p.m. – 12:30 a.m.
June 14 - 7:30 a.m. – 9 a.m.

Fox Sports 1
June 13 - 7-8 p.m.
June 14 - 3:30 a.m. – 7:30 a.m. and 9 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.

FOX Sports GO
Flag-to-flag coverage begins Saturday, June 13 at 8:30 a.m. until Sunday, June 14 at 9:30 a.m.

The race can be viewed via the FIA WEC second screen app or online at www.fiawec.com. In addition, viewers can download the 24H Le Mans application which will provide live coverage throughout the race. Download the app at 24h-lemans.com
 
To listen to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, tune into Radio Le Mans at www.radiolemans.com.

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RYAN DALZIEL
“The car has been good both days. We had some traffic today and it was an okay lap. I think we could have made the top 10 had we had a few more clean runs. We had some dry running today and I think we learned a lot in both cars. It has been an uphill battle for us to get to this point, but we are making gains as a team. We seem reliable and that’s the most important thing. We’re not going to have the fastest cars this week and we didn’t expect to, but hopefully we can have reliability and good pit stops from all our crew like we always do. This is a long race and the fastest car doesn’t always win. We need to stay out of trouble and get to the end.
 
“The car is comfortable. We tried to make it a little bit faster and we’ll probably make a few more adjustments to make it more comfortable. We seem pretty good on full heavy tanks and both Dunlop tire compounds work well. We have a day off Friday to think about it a little bit more and see where we can improve. Then we’ll carry that work over with us to finish on the podium.”   

JON FOGARTY
“We made big strides with the car today. I believe we have decent pace for the race. This is a long event and we need to get through it. We’re moving forward and learning more about the car and track. The team has done a good job. For me giving feedback on the car has been difficult because I’m not familiar with the circuit. We’re fortunate enough to be able to rely on the No. 30 car and move forward. We think both cars are in a good position to move forward. We’ll take the positive elements of these two days into the race and look forward to a solid run.” 

Further information
Web: www.esmracing.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TequilaPatronESM
Twitter: www.twitter.com/TequilaPatronESM 
YouTube: www.youtube.com/esmracing
Instagram: www.instagram.com/TequilaPatronESM