The Spirit of Daytona Racing squad will miss the Long Beach round of the IMSA Sportscar Championship after its Cadillac DPi-V.R sustained damage at the 12 Hours of Sebring.
A night accident at the final right-hander during the 11th hour of last weekend's enduro resulted in the team's retirement.
Driver Tristan Vautier was uninjured in the heavy shunt, which involved the Cadillac hitting the outside tyre barrier at high speed.
A day earlier, the Frenchman had taken Spirit of Daytona's first pole since 2015 with new Prototype lap record of the 3.7-mile circuit.
Vautier and Matt McMurry were intended to drive the Cadillac at Long Beach, which marks the first sprint event on the IMSA Sportscar calendar.
The withdrawal means Spirit of Daytona will skip racing at the Californian street circuit for the second consecutive year: in 2017 the outfit was forced to bench its Riley Mk.30-Gibson after Renger van der Zande suffered a brake failure-induced crash during practice.
“Sebring was an emotional rollercoaster ride for us,” said SDR team owner Troy Flis.
“We knew that we had the right combination for success, so taking the pole confirmed our confidence in this package."
"From the great support at Cadillac, Dallara and ECR to our talented drivers, engineers and our hard-working crew members we feel that we are a threat to win at every event."
"Our team partners and fans are so important to us, we just knew that we were headed for another podium finish at Sebring."
"Unfortunately, racing provides the highest of highs and lowest of lows and at Sebring we experienced both."
"We are most thankful that Tristan was not injured in the crash. Our Cadillac did its job of protecting the driver but unfortunately the amount of damage to the car is extensive."
"Unfortunately, due to several circumstances we will not be able to attend the Long Beach event but we will regroup, rebuild and come back stronger than ever.”
Round three of the IMSA Sportscar Championship at Long Beach takes place on April 14th.
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