The No. 38 Prototype Challenge entry of Performance Tech Motorsports again will take on the rough terrain of Sebring International Raceway for the 63rd Annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida on March 21 with a new face added to the team.
Performance Tech and Team Principal Brent O’Neill will bring back endurance driver Jerome Mee and James French for the second of four Tequila Patròn North American Endurance Cup events this season. French is signed to complete the 2015 season with Performance Tech. Both drivers previously shared the car at the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona.
Joining Mee and French will be Indianapolis 500 veteran Conor Daly. Daly’s previous experience in a PC car came in 2014 when he drove in the Rolex 24 At Daytona for RSR. This will be his first run in the Twelve Hours of Sebring, but he’s no stranger to the track. Daly raced Sebring in both Skip Barber and Star Mazda from 2008 to 2010.
“The deal came together over the last couple of days,” Daly said. “The team’s driver coach, Jonatan Jorge, is a friend of mine and suggested I’d be a good choice for the team. I had a couple good talks with Brent, and we decided to go to work at Sebring.”
Daly, 23, from Noblesville, Indiana, is the son of Formula One and Indianapolis 500 veteran Derek Daly, who co-drove to overall victory in 1990 and 1991 at Sebring. Derek Daly won both of those years with Nissan’s Performance Technology team, as that outfit paid Performance Tech for the use of its name due to confusion at the track.
“My dad won the race in 1990 and ’91, so no pressure” Daly said. “I’m excited to get a chance at somewhere my dad experienced a lot of success. Sebring is honestly one of my favorite tracks. It’s a really rough track, which leads to a lot of driver error, so you can take advantage of that. I love Turn 1 because it’s this super high-speed turn that’s really bumpy. The track just flows together well. Of course, the race has a great environment, too.
“All this has been brought on by the team. I have to thank Brent. He’s such a great guy and I’m lucky to be with a great team. I’m just thankful for the opportunity and ready to get to work on Sebring.”
Out of the car, the team also welcomes back engineer Ryan McCarthy, who “auditioned” for the team at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. He passed with ease and will remain the lead engineer for the PC car in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship as well as the team’s three Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda cars.
The team’s PC hopes were dashed in Daytona after the No. 38 was hit multiple times, spinning the car off track and forcing the team to retire early. Before the incident, the team turned consistent, fast laps, including leading the PC class.
Knowing the No. 38 and its drivers are capable of running up front, Performance Tech is planning on a podium finish. The last Sebring PC podium result for Performance Tech Motorsports came in 2013 with a third-place finish.
“The guys have been working really hard,” O’Neill said. “Jerry (Mee) is looking forward to being back in the car. He’s been getting better with all the testing we’ve done. James is just as fast as anyone out there. In Daytona he was just a victim of circumstance. We’re excited to have Conor on board, as well; he’ll fit in with the team. I think we’ll do fine at Sebring. We’ll have everything together and be good to go.”
Follow the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida by visiting scoring.imsa.com and following @IMSALive on Twitter. Fans can also listen to the race on IMSA Radio at IMSA.com and radiolemans.com. Tune into FOX Sports 1 for the first two hours of the race, starting at 10:30 a.m. (ET) Saturday, March 21. Coverage will continue from 12:30-7 p.m. on FOX Sports 2, followed by 7-10 p.m. on IMSA.com. FOX Sports 2 will finish the telecast from 10-11 p.m.
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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