IMSA: Sean Creech Motorsport’s Ligier JS P217 makes its debut in the ROAR!
19 - 21 January 2024 – After a couple of months of testing, Sean Creech Motorsport made its debut in the LMP2 category in IMSA with its Ligier JS P217. Early testing at Daytona in preparation for the 24 Hours of Daytona gave promising results.
Sean Creech Motorsport and its four drivers, Lance Willsey, João Barbosa, Jonny Edgar and Nolan Siegel, arrived at Daytona with a single aim: to make the final setups to their #33 Ligier JS P217: a crucial last step before tackling the biggest race of the season, the 24 Hours of Daytona on 27-28 January.
The results were very encouraging. In the second free practice session on Friday 19th January, 19-year-old Nolan Siegel set a time of 1:39.927 in the first ten minutes, and #33 was in second place when the session ended.
The team continued fine-tuning its adjustments the next day and João Barbosa set the fifth-quickest time in free practice 4 in 1:39.467s. Siegel improved the team's time and set #33's fastest lap of the weekend in the fifth and final session by getting round in 1:39.006s.
The next day the #33 Ligier JS P217 with gentleman driver Lance Willsey at the wheel qualified in 12th place for the 24 Hours of Daytona.
João Barbosa's impressions
“The week has been very successful, and the team is very motivated to continue that progress.”
Nolan Siegel's impressions
“We've made huge improvements with the car and we're really in the mix. I think it's really promising for the race weekend, and I'm excited to see where we stack up.”
Lance Willsey's impressions
“This is a new car for all of us. And it's radically different than driving the LMP3 car. But the crew has worked hard, along with everyone at Ligier, to pull this all together. We've made progress in every session. »
Jonny Edgar's impressions
“All four of us had a similar feeling in the direction we wanted to go. We made quite a few changes through the course of the day yesterday [Friday] and when I jumped back in my car the night session, it felt really good. I think we're a lot closer than where we were, and we're quite close to a lot of the others' times. Some of these teams have years with these cars so I think it's gone well so far. I've never done a 24-hour race so I'm focusing on being ready for long stints in traffic, figuring out where you can pass – I'll use the experience I've gained already this weekend.”
Rendezvous on Saturday 27th January at 13:40 local time for the start of the 24 Hours of Daytona.
For more information about the Ligier JS P217, CLICK HERE.