Podium place for Priaulx on GTD Pro debut at Daytona 24
Seb Priaulx and his AO Racing teammates started their racing season with a splendid second at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.
After his monumental feat of qualifying in pole position, he joined forces with Laurin Heinrich and Michael Christensen for his competitive GTD Pro class debut last weekend.
Their No. 77 ‘Rexy’ Porsche was running down in 11th after a turbulent first hour, which included a drive-through penalty, but Priaulx proved pivotal in getting them back into podium contention.
After an up-and-down 19 hours, they were in a clear-cut top three, and trouble in pit lane for the leading Paul Miller Racing BMW elevated their hopes.
They went into the final two hours trying to close a one-lap gap on the flying Ferrari of Risi Competizione. They could not quite manage that, finishing a third of a lap down.
‘We tried so hard for that win, but the balance of performance just wasn’t on our side,’ AO Racing said.
‘But these guys and their crew had an absolutely perfect race, and earned Rexy not only his first pole but his first podium too.’
