French Pushes Farther With Performance Tech

James French never had spent a full season in any racing series before 2015, never feeling the time was right.

 
Performance Tech Motorsports Team Principal Brent O’Neill brought French to the team in 2014 for the final five rounds of the Prototype Challenge class in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. French previously had only competed in selected races in a PC car, instead focusing on club and vintage races in his 1997 Benetton Formula One car.
 
In 2015, French and Performance Tech Motorsports formed a beneficial bond through which French grew as a driver and person in a comfortable, professional environment. French’s goal was to mold his racecraft and learn the requirements of a professional driver.
 
(left to right) French and Daly on podium at Circuit of the Americas.

“We talked to a lot of different teams when I made the transitions from club racing into the PC,” French said. “To be honest, Performance Tech just felt right. They’re a family-based team, honest, which you don’t find that too often, and it just seemed like somewhere I could learn.”

 
French didn’t enter the race season with a specific goal but knew he had obstacles to overcome. He needed to better familiarize himself with the car, learn new tracks and conquer a little fear.
 
“The goal is always to progress, and to win the goal is also always to win,” French said. “I had to learn to put a lot more trust into the car. You have to trust that the downforce is there and the brakes are there. This year I also had a minimum of six new tracks to learn. I wanted to be competitive even though they were new places. I worked at closing the gap between my time and the pros’ time.
 
“Sharing the car with a co-driver was new to me. It’s always scary watching your co-driver. It can also be surprising, and you can learn a lot. But I enjoy this style of racing. I think it adds more variables to how you can win. It’s not like club racing, where if you qualify on pole you’ll probably win. I think it makes it more exciting.”
 
French quickly picked up the nuances of the car. He spent countless hours working with O’Neill and Performance Tech’s engineer, Ryan McCarthy,  and driver coach, Jonatan Jorge, to develop and polish his skill set.
  
Five races into the season, French won his first pole and set his first qualifying-lap record in late May at the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic Presented by Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers. French and the entire PC class never had raced at Belle Isle before that event.
 
French produced three poles for the team during the season. Besides Detroit, he also earned the top spot at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and his home track of Road America
 
“Qualifying grew to be something fun and exciting,” French said. “There’s not a lot of practice time, and this is really the best track time you get. With four classes on track, this is your best chance to get a clean lap. I don’t think qualifying was as brutal as it could have been because it is mostly silvers (Silver-rated drivers) out there, but I always had good battles, especially with Chris Cumming.
 
“I think of all of them, Detroit was the most surprising. I think we had got close at Laguna, which was the previous race, but we missed it, so Detroit was really exciting. Road America felt like luck; I didn’t think I had it. All of them were exciting, and it was fun to see how much I had improved in that skill.”
 
French also learned the importance of a supportive team behind him.
  
 “You test the trust you have in everyone,” French said. “To trust the car, you have to trust the team. You have to know winning is possible. And it’s been a great experience because of everyone at Performance Tech.
 
“I appreciate so much more after being with them on race weekends and seeing how motivated they are. Everyone wants to win, and I want to win for them. I think it helps everyone to build that team relationship. “
 
Looking ahead to 2016, French plans to use the offseason to continue building his skills in the PC car. He’s also setting goals for the upcoming season.
 
“My goal for 2016 is to finish the 24 Hours of Daytona, I don’t care how many laps down,” French said. “Of course, if winning is an option, I’d prefer that. Last year not finishing the race just didn’t sit well with me, and I think our season would have looked a lot different had we finished.
 
“I’ll also be working on building my speed quicker. Having the time and experience of a season under my belt will help. I’ll know the tracks before we get there, and I’ll be able to apply what I learned my rookie season. I’m going to be working toward being a professional.”
 
French has spent time this offseason in his vintage Formula One car and plans to sharpen his skills by testing an Indy Lights Dallara IL-15.
 
“I’ll be testing the PC car over the offseason; we already have some scheduled for December,” French said. “The Lights car with the amount of downforce it has would be beneficial experience for me. I’ll also some indoor karting. Really I’ll be in anything with a steering wheel and pedals.”
 
Performance Tech is preparing its No. 38 PC car for the 2016 season. The scheduled December testing will be the first laps the team has turned this offseason after a complete rebuild of the car due to upgrades mandated by IMSA after the sanctioning body’s decision to extend the class through 2017. The upgrades include lightening the engine, making aero balance improvements and modifying the electronics package.

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