Rising motor racing star Seb Morris impressed on his Daytona debut ahead of his return stateside this weekend.
Over the festive period, the former Abbey Gate College pupil went behind the wheel of the brand new Cadillac DPi-VR prototype, run by top team Action Express Racing, a vehicle he will pilot in this month’s Rolex 24 event, which takes place over January 28 and 29.
Awarded with a fully-funded prize drive in one of the globe’s biggest endurance races after winning this year’s Sunoco Whelen Challenge, the 21-year-old, from Marford, travelled to the Sunshine State of Florida for his maiden run at the famous banked circuit which will be the venue for his first twice-round-the-clock encounter.
Getting to grips with his new environment in double-quick time, Morris delivered an assured performance as the 6.2-litre V8 Whelen Engineering backed Cadillac was put through its paces around the awesome 31-degree banked course.
Morris will now take part in the ‘ROAR before the Rolex 24’ at Daytona this weekend, a race which precedes the blue riband event at the end of the month.
“It was such fun – really, really special,” said the talented Morris, who joins vastly experienced team-mates Eric Curran, Dane Cameron and Toyota factory LMP1 driver Mike Conway at Action Express Racing.
“We had a few technical issues early on day one but everything went well after that and I had about 20 or so laps in the car.
“When you get onto the banking for the first time, words can’t really describe what that feeling is like.
“The Cadillac is mega quick, I likened it to a World Series (Formula Renault 3.5) car with the acceleration but without the aero drag so the car keeps pulling and pulling.
“You’re in sixth gear within 16 seconds and you look at the readout and see you’re doing 200mph, that’s something I’ve never done and one of the things I’ve always wanted to achieve ticked off the list.”
Morris is now looking forward to getting back behind the wheel this weekend as he looks to continue his rapid rise in the sport this year following an impressive showing in 2016.
“I’m really looking forward to being back at Daytona for the ROAR, we’ll work to get a good base level set-up there and hopefully use the weekend to find a solid platform for the Rolex 24,” added Morris.
“The experience has been amazing so far, huge thank you to Sunoco and Whelen for such an incredible opportunity and, of course, to the guys at Action Express Racing.”
