| Ryan Dalziel, Dwight Merriman and Thomas Laurent Will Pilot the No. 17 LMP2 Entry in Conjunction with IDEC Sport August 19, 2021 By Jeff Olson IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – When Ryan Dalziel first raced at Le Mans in 2010, he was already familiar with Tertre Rouge. And the Porsche Curves. And Steve McQueen. That’s because he watched films about the 24 Hours of Le Mans during the flight from the U.S. to France. He saw “Le Mans” with McQueen. He watched “24 Hour War.” He watched James Garner’s “Grand Prix.” All at the request of team owner Bill Riley. “He made me watch all the Le Mans movies on the way over there, even down to the Audi ‘Truth in 24’ movie,” Dalziel recalled. “By the time I got there, I was excited and nervous. A little bit of a history lesson is important to know exactly how cool it is to go do it.” Cool, indeed. Dalziel is preparing for his seventh effort at Circuit de la Sarthe, the 8.467-mile course that will host the 89th 24 Hours of Le Mans this weekend. He’s part of IDEC Sport’s combined effort with Era Motorsport and co-drivers Dwight Merriman and Thomas Laurent in the No. 17 IDEC ORECA 07 in the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class. Eleven years later, Le Mans still holds the same magic. “There are certain parts of my career that will be etched in my brain for history,” Dalziel said. “Going under the tunnel at Daytona for the first time. Driving at Indy for the first time. Laguna Seca. These are all things that stay in there. But I think Le Mans as an event – every single part of it, including the race – is special.”  Era Motorsport competed in last year’s 24 Hours, delayed until September because of COVID-19, with Jonathan Kennard, Kyle Tilley and Patrick Pilet, a late replacement for Merriman. This year, after winning the LMP2 class in the Rolex 24 At Daytona with Dalziel, Merriman, Tilley and Paul-Loup Chatin, Era Motorsport prepped for Le Mans by racing in the European Le Mans Series (ELMS). Before departing for France, Merriman and Dalziel tuned up for Le Mans by competing in the IMSA SportsCar Weekend at Road America and taking the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship LMP2 class win. “I just felt that would be both a great learning experience for me and a lot of fun with the tracks and everything,” Merriman said. “I was hoping by now that COVID would be more in the rearview than it is, so it’s logistically challenging. It’s been great on both fronts. It’s more seat time, so I’m just learning and trying to get faster.” Earlier this week, Laurent replaced Tilley in the Le Mans entry. Tilley, Era’s owner, was replaced in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway because of an injury. Merriman, who was replaced by Pilet before the start of last year’s 24 Hours, will be competing at Le Mans for the first time. Before testing this week, he’d been learning the course by way of a simulator. “You can’t just go rent the track and test,” Merriman said. “It’s really tough to get up to speed right away. … You have simulators and video. You watch old races. You do your homework, but it’s not the same as driving the track. You don’t just show up and try to stay out of the way.” As portrayed on film, Le Mans is tough. “It’s the pinnacle of the best drivers and equipment in the world,” Dalziel said. “On top of that, it’s just a phenomenal racetrack. It really is a cool place.” The No. 17 ORECA qualified 16th in class and 21st overall on Wednesday. The race begins at 10 a.m. ET Saturday. MotorTrend TV and RadioLeMans.com have flag-to-flag coverage. |
