 DPR then became the European factory team for Panoz in 1997, running their Esperante GTR-1s in the new FIA GT Championship as well as supporting the primary team in the United States.In 1998, Price was in charge of the first hybrid car ever to attempt to qualify at Le Mans, the Panoz GT-1 hybrid.During a brief interlude from Panoz, David Price Racing ran a BMW V12 LM at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, finishing fifth overall.