RS1 Withdraws No. 18 Porsche GT4 After Qualifying Accident

RS1 has withdrawn its No. 18 Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR after it sustained damage in a crash in qualifying.

Daniel Morad was set to share the car with Spencer Pumpelly this weekend at Daytona, but the incident has derailed those plans. Pumpelly, who is pulling double duty between the team’s two cars, qualified the sister No. 28 entry on the pole.

RS1 team owner Justin Bellinzoni said the team was still assessing what caused the accident.

“The engineer is still going over some data to find out exactly what happened to the car on track, but ultimately with how the 28 has performed this weekend we feel like we have a good shot for the overall win here and we want to focus on that,” he told Sportscar365.

“The damage was enough to make a man frown, but we always have to remember: is the driver OK?

“Daniel was OK. From there, we looked at the car again and determined it could have been worse, so at that point in time you turn your frown upside down. We’ll carry on.”

Bellinzoni said the plan is to be back with two cars for the next round at Sebring, although the driver lineup for that car is yet to be confirmed.

He added that the strength of both entries prior to the accident has him excited about the prospects for the rest of the season.

“The cars obviously have the same DNA and they’re very identical,” he said. “Spencer had the luxury of shaking down both cars and he said he’s never seen two chassis so equal on a two-car team.

“Unfortunately Daniel’s weekend ended a little early but I think he would have been in the top-five, and this is his first weekend in the car, first two days in the car. He’s been coming up to speed nicely.

“We’re happy about being able to align both pairings with a really good platform.”