Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen has announced Pietro Fittipaldi to replace Clement Novalak for the 24 Hours of Daytona on 27-28 January, after the Frenchman suffered an injury from a pit lane incident during FP4.
Fittipaldi will join Nick Boulle, Jakub Smiechowski and Tom Dillmann for the 62nd running of the 24 Hours of Daytona, the season-opener of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship tomorrow.
Fittipaldi said: “It’s an unfortunate situation for the team and Clement; they have been doing a great job preparing for the Daytona 24 Hours.
“I got the call from the team asking me to jump in at the last minute at Daytona, and I’ll be straight into green flag racing.
“Fortunately, I have experience with this car, and I did the 24-hours last year.
“It’s not going to be an easy task, but I am looking forward to the challenge, and I’ll do the best job possible for the team.”
The grandson of the famous Formula 1 and Indianapolis 500 champion Emerson Fittipaldi drove previously with Inter Europol in the 2022 European Le Mans Series.
In point of fact, he was part of the effort at the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps which saw the team finish second after starting last.
After the Roar qualifying, the team line up on the front row of the LMP2 class in second place to the pole-sitting #2 United Autosports Oreca 07.
With Nick Boulle having showcased an impressive LMP2 debut qualifying performance, he will start the race in the #51 Oreca against 12 class rivals.
