Performance Tech Earns Two Podium Finishes in Race Two

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Performance Tech Motorsports finished the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda weekend at Sebring International Raceway with two podium finishes.

 

Robert Alon and Joel Janco found their way to the podium in Race Two while teammate Austin Versteeg dealt with a mechanical issue that sent him off course.

 

Starting from the second position Alon spent a majority of his race chasing down first place. However, after a yellow flag interrupted his pace he lost his position a few laps after the restart. He drove steadily, turning laps under the two-minute mark.

 

Alon was gaining on the race leaders when time ran out. He finished third overall.

 

 “We had a tricky time getting the car right for the track,” Alon said. “First it was greasy and then we were finding more grip. We ended up with a great car for today.

 

“For a long time we didn’t drop off at all, we had fast lap times and by the end of the race I was right back on the leaders tails. The Cooper Tires did a great job, they didn’t fall off at all and Performance Tech gave me a great car. 

  

Janco drove his way to a second, second place finish on the L1 Masters podium. Through the race Janco avoided two incidents to stay clean and finish in the top 10 with an eighth place finish.  

 

“It was a fabulous weekend,” Janco said. “The best I’ve done. Thanks to the team and Jonatan Jorge, he did a great job of coaching. The track today was fabulous and so was the car. It was really fun to drive and I had a great time.”

 

Versteeg, 15, started from the eighth position and skillfully worked his way up to sixth while hunting down his second top five finish. With less than five minutes left in the session Versteeg’s No. 16 Prototype Lite machine had a mechanical glitch that caused the car to lose power.

 

The result was Versteeg running off the track while setting himself up for a pass for fifth place. Power returned and he re-entered the race in the 14th position. Versteeg fought back for an 11th place finish.

  

“I’m really happy with the car’s performance and my performance after my first race weekend in the car,” Versteeg said. “For the first 25 minutes of the race I was having issues finding the right pace. During the race I had made contact with one of the guys I was racing for position, just race contact but I lost some position on that.

 

“I was up to sixth position and I was just trying to get the run to take fifth from him but when I shifted the car lost power. I rolled off the track to get out of the way trying to restart the car. I finally did but I had dropped down to 14th I think and ended up finishing 11th. I was happy with the pace overall.”

 

Team Principal Brent O’Neill had hoped to see each of his drivers on podium and still believes he will soon enough.

 

“It’s a great way to end the weekend,” O’Neill said. “The guys all worked really hard to have the cars prepared. Robert did a great job and held on for third place. Joel ended the weekend with two trophies; I know he’s happy.

 

“It’s unfortunate what happened to Austin, we’ll check it out make sure his car is good to go for NOLA. I think he really showed how talented he is this weekend and as the season progresses I think we’ll see him improve even more and maybe even get him on a podium.”

 

The Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda next race weekend for Rounds 3 and 4 will be April 10-12 at NOLA Motorsports Park in New Orleans, Louisiana. For more details visit www.prototype-lites.com. 

 

Keep up with Performance Tech Motorsports by following the team on  Facebook and Twitter at @Perf_Tech. For more information on the team, visit performancetechmotorsports.com.

Adam Sinclair
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