Performance Tech Motorsports is back in its groove with the IMSA summer racing schedule continuing at Road America, July 31-Aug. 2.
The team heads to Road America with its two IMSA Prototype Challenge entries and one IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship entry for the second race post-pandemic hiatus. The 14 Turn, 4.048-mile track represents the longest and most grueling course of the season. With no room for error, Team Principal Brent O’Neill stresses the importance of consistency as the crew and drivers prepare for the weekend.
“Road America is a tough track but it’s one we’ve always done well at,” O’Neill said. “We saw at Sebring that this condensed weekend leaves no time for mistakes. The key will be clean and steady racing. Everyone’s driven here before so they know the track and can work together to get up to speed as quickly as possible.”
Performance Tech Motorsports welcomes back a familiar face as James French, Sheboygan, Wisconsin, takes the reins of the No. 38 Centinel Spine ORECA LMP2 with Cameron Cassels, British Columbia. The Wisconsin native last drove the No. 38 at Road America in 2019, earning the team the Motul Pole Award and a second-place finish. French and Cassels have logged countless hours together as a driver pairing making this transition seamless.
IMSA Prototype Challenge has not raced at Road America since before the ALMS and Grand-Am merger in 2014 when the prototypes were still open cockpit Èlan DP02. The weekend serves as a blank slate for the field aside from driver’s personal experience on track. This gives the No. 75 VB Enviro Care LMP3 the upper hand as Milwaukee, Wisconsin, native Max Hanratty, and Cassels both have raced numerous times at Road America. The duo enters the halfway point in the season fifth overall in the championship; a podium position finish gives them the push they need to make a charge up the leaderboard.
The No. 6 is back with its season-long pairing of Dan Goldburg, Delray Beach, and Blake Mount, Littleton, Colorado. Mount is back after having to sit out of Round 2 at Sebring International Raceway due to exposure to COVID-19. Goldburg brings priceless knowledge to the pairing as he is the only driver on the team who competed at Road America during the last outing of Prototype Challenge at Road America.
Performance Tech Motorsports moves in at Road America Thursday, July 30. Upon unloading the team will receive a VB Enviro Care disinfecting treatment as well as installation of air purification systems. The weekend schedule mirrors that of a more traditional race weekend featuring three days rather than two. Road America in conjunction with IMSA will allow limited amounts of fans into the venue on Saturday and Sunday. For ticket sales and event, details visit https://www.imsa.com/events/road-america/.