DXDT Racing Withdraws Corvette Entry from Lagnua Seca Following Transporter Fire

DXDT Racing’s trip to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca took a frightening turn early Thursday when the team’s transporter caught fire on I 5 north of Bakersfield, damaging the rig carrying its Corvette Z06 GT3.R and equipment for this weekend’s WeatherTech Championship round.

Team officials say an axle failure is believed to have triggered the blaze, which quickly grew into what program manager Bryan Sellers described as a “fully involved fire.” No injuries were reported, and no other vehicles were affected.

The team first released a statement confirming the incident and thanking first responders for their quick action. “En route to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca for this weekend’s StubHub Monterey SportsCar Championship, a mechanical incident resulted in a fully involved fire affecting the DXDT Racing transporter on I5 north of Bakersfield,” the statement read. “No injuries were reported, and no other vehicles were involved. The status of the No. 36 DXDT Racing Corvette Z06 GT3.R is currently unknown.”

The timing couldn’t be worse for DXDT. The No. 36 entry, driven by Robert Wickens and Mason Filippi, was scheduled to compete in Sunday’s two hour, 40 minute GTD race. Wickens is coming off his first start of the season two weeks ago at Long Beach, where he put the car on the class pole.

In light of the damage, DXDT has withdrawn the no. 36 Corvette Z06 GT3.R from the StubHub Monterey SportsCar Championship.

Bryan Sellers, Team Manager: “Unfortunately the damage incurred is too substantial for us to continue moving forward for this weekends event at Laguna Seca. It’s heartbreaking to have to make this decision, for all of our partners involved and individuals that support us. David Askew (owner), Erin Gahagan (GM) and myself are all extremely thankful for the outpouring of help from competitors, our partners, manufacturers, and of course IMSA. We are already assessing what needs to be done to make sure we are ready for Watkins Glen and moving forward.”

This marks the second transporter fire to hit the sports car paddock in as many weeks. BSI Racing suffered a similar incident while traveling to the SRO America event at Circuit of The Americas, raising concerns about the strain teams face during back to back cross country hauls.

Only one race car was on the transporter at the time of the fire. DXDT does have a spare chassis which is located at their headquarters in North Carolina.

DXDT says further updates will be provided as more information becomes available.

Source:
Sportscar365.com and IMSA

Related:
Corvette Racing at Long Beach: Season-Best Sixth for DXDT
Corvette Racing at Long Beach: Pole Position for Wickens, DXDT
DXTD Racing’s Robert Wickens to Host a Fireside Chat Dinner on May 1st in Monterey

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