Performance Tech Motorsports finished third at the 63rd Annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida after a scorching day at Sebring International Raceway.
The third place finish, ninth overall, is the team’s first podium of the 2015 season and the first Sebring podium since joining the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. None of the Performance Tech drivers had previously ever competed in the once around the clock endurance classic.
The team’s last podium appearance at Sebring was in 2013 for the final year of the American Le Mans Series, it also was a third place finish.
At the drop of the green flag Saturday morning, things heated up quickly on track between the competitors. The No. 38 Prototype Challenge was damaged when Conor Daly was tagged on the right side of the No. 38 while fighting for position. The car continued, but sustained damage to a back panel and the right headlight.
Unfazed by the minor incident, Daly, a resident of Indianapolis, proceeded to turn consistent fast clean laps. He drove the No. 38 PC to the front of the class, laying down lap times of 1:55. 630. Daly reached as high as sixth place overall while taking the lead in the PC class.
Teammates James French and Jerome Mee each faced a dangerously slick track during their stints thanks to the incessant Florida heat. Temperatures soared near 90 degrees while the track temperature was well over 100. The drivers were attentive to their Continental Tires, conserving them over long yellows.
“Today was just amazing,” Mee said. “The car was unbelievably smooth all day. Our crew was fantastic; the car setup was fantastic. Conor and James did an incredible job. We all kept it smooth out there and had the right pace. We were able to hang on until the end. It was just a great race.”
French followed Mee’s pace and maintained the third place position, nearly reaching second but was unable to overtake the PC class winner PR1/ Mathiasen.
“I think it’s an amazing achievement in itself just to finish here,” French said. “The crew, everybody did an excellent job today. I mean Conor put in a ton of time in the car, ran some amazing times. Jerry also put in some really solid stint. We were mistake free, we had no penalties so third is a great way to end the race. I’m very thankful for everyone on the team that made it happen.”
At Sebring the motto, “anything can happen,” are words to live by. So to finish the race the team turned to open wheel veteran Daly who drove three consecutive stints to finish the race.
The team strategized ways to turn Daly’s consistency into position gain. However, as time ran out options dwindled and Daly was forced to focus on managing his pace for third. Daly drove six of the 12 hours of racing.
“It was a long day,” Daly said. “But I’m really, really happy to just make it to the end. That was the first goal obviously. When we knew we could podium, of course we aimed for more. But unfortunately, we got a little bit too far behind the leaders. I did everything I could within my power to try to catch them, but just couldn’t do it. We didn’t catch any yellows in the end either, which is what we were kind of hoping for.
“But just a huge thank you to the team for putting together a car that was just bomb proof. That was really cool, and it was fast. I really enjoyed it, now I’m wrecked, so I know I left it all out on the track. It was a cool experience for sure.”
Team Principal Brent O’Neill has brought Performance Tech to Sebring for the past 35 years. But a podium finish is always a welcome reward for the hard work put in at the historic track.
“It was a good day,” O’Neill said. “We actually got ourselves into position to where we could fight for the lead the last couple of hours. We needed a little bit of help there, but we didn’t get it. We’ll take our third place.
“Everybody did a great job. Conor, the last stint, was beyond stellar. James and Jerry kept it clean on track so we could get that finish. They kept position and pace. It was really actually overall a really good day for everybody. This is probably a tougher race for everybody, and on the car. I hate to see the poor thing when she gets back here, she’s going to be beat.”
Performance Tech will try to duplicate its efforts at the next race on the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship schedule, which will take place May, 1-3 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. For more details visit imsa.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.
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
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