DragonSpeed Completes Daytona Lineup; Mies to Make P2 Debut

Audi factory GT driver Christopher Mies will make his LMP2 debut later this month as part of DragonSpeed’s completed driver lineup for the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

The defending LMP2 class-winning team has confirmed that Mies, Devlin de Francesco and Fabian Schiller will join previously-announced mandatory Bronze-rated driver Eric Lux in the No. 18 Oreca 07 Gibson entry.

DragonSpeed has already named Rinus Veekay, Ben Hanley, Garett Grist and Rob Hodes as the drivers of its No. 81 car for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship opener on Jan. 30-31.

Its latest completed lineup features two European GT3 front-runners in Mies and Schiller, and an upcoming Indy Lights driver in de Francesco.

While double Nürburgring 24 and Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour winner Mies has never raced in a prototype before, he has contested Daytona three times with Land-Motorsport as part of his Audi factory role.

“It means a lot to be back at Daytona for the Rolex 24 after missing last year,” said Mies, who finished second in the GT Daytona class in 2017.

“It will be my first time in an LMP2 car, so I really appreciate the trust placed in me by Elton [Julian, DragonSpeed team principal] as well as my sponsors Montaplast and Wilhelm May.

“Together with Eric, Devlin, and my friend and rival Fabi, we will have one of the strongest driver crews and I can’t wait to get started.”

Mies’ fellow new signings de Francesco and Schiller both have handfuls of LMP2 experience, as does Lux, who was named as the No. 18 car’s Bronze driver in November.

20-year-old Canadian de Francesco drove a JDC-Miller Motorsports Oreca in the 2018 Daytona and Motul Petit Le Mans IMSA enduros, while Schiller piloted an older-spec Oreca 03R Nissan in the 2017 Asian Le Mans Series.

Like Mies, Schiller is a regular in European GT3 competition and represented Mercedes-AMG outfit GetSpeed Performance in a mixture of series last year.

“The No. 18 car’s drivers combine youthful speed with extensive endurance racing backgrounds, experience at Daytona, and factory race team discipline,” said DragonSpeed boss Julian.

“I have no doubt they will be contenders for the win in LMP2 with a laser-like focus on what it takes to get there.

“In addition to reuniting with Eric, we are delighted to welcome Devlin, Chris, and Fabian to the team for the first race of what we all hope will be a much better year for our sport and the world.”

DragonSpeed won Daytona last year with Hanley, Colin Braun, Harrison Newey and Henrik Hedman, and is aiming for its third consecutive class victory.