IMSA – Tristan Vautier: “A lot of positives to take away from Daytona”

What caused your retirement from the 24 Hours of Daytona?

The engine failed shortly before the tenth hour of the race. It's a shame, it was going pretty well apart from a problem with the radio when Eddie (Cheever III. Editor’s note) was at the wheel. He couldn't hear us and this led to a bit of confusion during refueling and tire changes as it happened during the downpour (Saturday evening. Editor’s note). We lost a lap but nothing alarming in a race like the 24 Hours of Daytona.

Were you surprised by the pace of your car in the race?

We had the pace to fight for victory, provided of course that we remained in the fight during the final sprint. Our Cadillac was one of the fastest, if not the fastest, over an entire stint. I had a blast, the car is really very pleasant to drive, with a lot of steering. The set up was good and we didn't damage the tires too much.

What predominates: Frustration or the fact that your performance is encouraging for the races to come?

As this problem is completely out of our control, we have nothing to regret. So I'm frustrated, but less so than if we had made an avoidable mistake. There are a lot of positives to take away from Daytona, especially our race pace. People congratulated us after qualifying but I was disappointed because I felt that fifth was not representative of our real potential and we proved it in the race. I am very optimistic for the future.