Tequila Patron ESM co-owner and driver Ed Brown will not complete his final Prototype race as planned this weekend in Watkins Glen due to ongoing recovery from back surgery. Without Brown in the No. 22 Nissan Onroak DPi, drivers Johannes van Overbeek and Bruno Senna will split the six-hour event.

“This recent development is disappointing, to say the least,” Brown said. “I was looking forward to having one final race in the car, but I’m happy I’ll still be able attend and support everyone from pit lane. As usual, the team has done a tremendous job preparing for this race, I believe both cars will be very strong. Bruno and Johannes will now have a little more time to dial everything in, and I know they’ll do a great job. I look forward to a shot of Patrón with everyone after the race!”

With a revised mission in hand, van Overbeek says honoring Brown with a fine result is all that matters.

“There is nothing more I’d like to do than to win the Six Hours of Watkins Glen for Ed, especially now that he is unable to run his last prototype race,” he added. “We had a fast car last year and hopefully this year will be no different. It will also be nice to work with Bruno Senna again who will bring his recent WEC P2 experience to the table which should accelerate our setup for the race on Sunday.”

Although Brown is bringing an end to his time in prototypes, a return to GT racing is said to be in his future.