New Nissan DPi is “confidence-inspiring” says van Overbeek
Tequila Patron ESM driver Johannes van Overbeek says the team’s initial test with the new Nissan Onroak DPi was positive although he acknowledged there was still a lot of preparation to be done before the car’s race debut.
Photo by: Extreme Speed Motorsport
Van Overbeek, who was on ESM’s race winning crew at this year’s Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, said that basing the new car’s design on the Ligier JS P2 had provided a strong foundation.
Following a two-day test at Sebring Raceway, he commented: “The new Ligier is an evolution of an already good and successful car. The new car, out of the box, is confidence-inspiring and easy to drive.
“There's lots of work left to do, but the Tequila Patrón ESM team is up for the challenge.
“This also marks the first time working with Nissan and NISMO. They are a committed group and we've been impressed with the engine package both in terms of performance and reliability.
Teammate Ryan Dalziel added: “Day 1 was challenging, as always with a new car, but the good people from Nissan NISMO, Onroak, and Patrón ESM got most of the items fixed and we logged a lot of miles in Day 2.
“The car was really good to drive and the NISMO engine is awesome. I'm really excited for 2017.”
Dalziel will partner Scott Sharp in the #2 entry in next year’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, with Pipo Derani joining them for the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup races. The second of the 3.8-liter V6 powered cars, the #22, will see van Overbeek partnered by Ed Brown fulltime. Their endurance-race partners will be Bruno Senna and Brendon Hartley.
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
The long evolution of Dallara's Indy 500 winner
IMSA Laguna Seca: Ganassi Cadillac holds off Porsche for victory
O’Ward, Rossi impressed by McLaren’s “massive step forward”
Laguna Seca IMSA: Victory for ESM Nissan, heartbreak for Mazda
Derani dedicates Sebring victory to sick father
Senna: “Our drive-through was not deserved. They took our race”
ESM “working on a number of scenarios” to replace Patron
Tequila Patron to end team and IMSA series sponsorship
ESM Nissan down to one car for next IMSA round
Long Beach IMSA: Bourdais spins then tops FP2 for Cadillac
Latvala: Neuville, Evans tied for WRC Croatia lead "something special"
Streets of Long Beach receive changes ahead of the IMSA, IndyCar doubleheader
The Chinese Grand Prix's Chaotic Return and Cloudy Future
How canny Porsche strategy snatched Daytona spoils from Cadillac
How a battle of two American titans will grip IMSA in 2024
How IMSA's GTP revival proved worthy of its name
How Porsche's Daytona hiccups evoked the premiere of its Group C king
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments