Fittipaldi to Sub for Injured Novalak at Inter Europol/PR1

Photo: Inter Europol Competition

Pietro Fittipaldi has received a late call-up to compete in this weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, subbing for the injured Clement Novalak in the No. 52 Inter Europol by PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Oreca 07 Gibson.

Novalak sustained a leg and hip injury in a pit lane incident in Friday’s final practice for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener.

The Frenchman’s injury is described by the team to not be serious, but has ruled him out of the race.

Fittipaldi, who took part in last year’s Rolex 24 in Rick Ware Racing’s Oreca, will share Inter Europol with PR1/Mathisen’s LMP2 contender with Nick Boulle, Kuba Smiechowski and Tom Dillmann, which had qualified second in class.

Per WeatherTech Championship rules, it’s expected the car will have to start from the rear of the LMP2 class grid due to the driver change.

“It’s an unfortunate situation for the team and Clement; they have been doing a great job preparing for the Daytona 24 Hours,” Fittipaldi said.

“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.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John