It was a rough day in the rain for Performance Tech Motorsports at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park for Round 8 of Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda. Early morning storms Sunday, July 13, mixed with intermittent rain showers during the race, soaked the 10-turn, 2.459-mile circuit at CTMP.
Robert Alon and Joel Janco fought through the rain to ninth- and 12th-place finishes, respectively. A spin in Turn 2 pushed Janco back in the field. A mechanical problem ended Craig Duerson’s race early, an all-too-familiar problem for the team. Hayden Duerson was unable to continue after his car was damaged in an off-course excursion.
Team Principal Brent O’Neill acknowledged the challenges the rain presented but felt his team still made progress.
“The rain is a bigger challenge here because of how fast the cars are on this track,” O’Neill said. “We had a motor problem with Craig, and it started going south, so we decided to park it before it blew. Hayden was in a different car after his accident yesterday and just made a small mistake, and there you go. Robert Alon had an impressive race again. P9 first time racing in the rain. First season racing a car ever. It’s his fourth weekend ever in a race car.”
Performance Tech started all four drivers in Round 8 after a hectic Round 7 left Alon as the soul survivor of the four. The team worked until 2 a.m. (ET) to have a car ready for each driver. With a 9:50 a.m. start time, the team was back in action by 6 a.m. to prepare for the race.
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