Performance Tech Powers to First-Ever PC Pole - Speedway Digest

Performance Tech Motorsports will start the Chevrolet SportsCar Classic presented by the Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers from the pole position.

James French turned a lap of 1 minute, 29.317 seconds in the No. 38 ORECA FLM09 machine to deliver Performance Tech its first-ever TOTAL Pole Award in the Prototype Challenge class. French edged the No. 11 of Chris Cumming by .004 of a second in a thrilling session on the 2.35-mile Belle Isle circuit.

French’s first career pole also was a class qualifying record, as this is the first year Prototype Challenge cars have run in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship event at Belle Isle.

This is the second consecutive race Performance Tech Team Principal Brent O’Neill called on French for qualifying. French qualified third earlier this month at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

“To be quite honest, I would not have guessed that it would be me to set all these firsts this weekend,” French said. “I know in the past I have struggled with qualifying. This was the fourth time I have qualified this car, I believe. The first two times we were last, and the last time I was third, so we just keep getting better and better and more comfortable with the format and the way the Continental Tires come up to temperature.

“Based on the little bit of practice we had, Ryan (McCarthy, chief engineer) did an awesome job of giving us the car we needed. We made a few changes in the morning that didn’t have the effect we wanted, but I think we learned enough from that to go in the right direction, and it definitely paid off. The last three laps the car felt absolutely perfect and did everything I wanted. Thanks to everyone on the team and especially my co-driver (James Vance) for that third shot of espresso.”

O’Neill was overjoyed to add a pole award to his team’s records. He was the first to congratulate all those involved after the final time populated on live timing.

“We are really happy to have our first pole with the PC car,” O’Neill said. “I have to thank the team and especially Ryan-he did a great job of getting the car right where we wanted it. James has worked really hard and shown steady improvement, and I couldn’t be prouder of his and the team’s efforts today. Tomorrow will be an interesting race, we’ll see how the rain plays into it.”

Round 5 of the 2015 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship for the PC class will take place at 12:05 p.m. (ET) Saturday, May 30, with French and James Vance sharing the Performance Tech car in the 100-minute race. Event coverage begins at noon on FOX Sports 2. Fans can also follow along at scoring.imsa.com or watch live streaming on 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.

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Adam Sinclair

NHRA, IHRA, Motocross and other forms of motorsports Staff writer
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.