The Spirit of Daytona Racing squad has completed a switch to the Cadillac DPi-V.R. chassis ahead of the 2018 IMSA Sportscar season.
SDR ran a Ligier JSP217 in the top prototype category this year (as Visit Florida Racing) and became the only non-DPi team to win a race when it triumphed at Laguna Seca.
The team started 2017 with a Riley-Multimatic LMP2, but switched to the Ligier midway through the campaign after struggling for pace.
Its new Cadillac, which was delivered in the first week of December, will be driven by two-time Indy 500 starter Tristan Vautier and American sportscar racer Matt McMurry.
Vautier contested the GTD category this year with the SunEnergy1 Mercedes team, while McMurry, who in 2014 became youngest driver ever to compete at Le Mans, had a full-time programme in the European Le Mans Series.
An additional driver for the four rounds of the North American Endurance Cup will be announced soon.
“Last season was so difficult but even though we were on the back foot for a lot of the year, and I think we learned a lot as an organization and improved as a team," said team owner Troy Flis.
“Winning at Laguna Seca was a great way to demonstrate that, and now we are focused on taking that momentum and getting a quick start with this Cadillac DPi."
"We just want to give our drivers a solid platform with the car to learn and just get better as the year goes on.”
SDR is the third team to commit to the Cadillac chassis, which won seven out of 10 races this year in the hands of Action Express and Wayne Taylor Racing.
Flis' team previously sided with General Motors in 2011, when it ran a Chevrolet-powered Coyote in the Daytona Prototype category.
The GM-built DPi-V.R. is based on the Dallara LMP2 package, but carries a 6.2-litre V8 Caddy engine rather than the spec 4.2-litre Gibson V8 found in all European-style prototypes.
SDR's entry increases the number of Cadillacs on the IMSA grid to four, with defending champion Wayne Taylor Racing returning with its #10 car and Action Express bringing two machines.
Former SDR driver Renger van der Zande forms one half of the Taylor lineup after signing for the team in October.
"The big thing is the opportunity to work with some of the same folks that we were so successful with when we were racing the Corvette Daytona Prototype," said Flis.
"Hopefully that will help us get up to speed with this car quickly. IMSA is going to be even more competitive in 2018 and we are really looking forward to being a factor this year with our new Cadillac package."
The 2018 IMSA season gets underway with the Daytona 24 Hours on January 27-28th.
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