Halfway There: Performance Tech Motorsports Completes First Race of the Weekend at Road Atlanta
Performance Tech Motorsports welcomed an uneventful finale to usher in the IMSA Prototype Challenge off-season.
Performance Tech Motorsports kicked off its Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta race weekend with the IMSA Prototype Challenge season finale. The early morning event brought out a plethora of full-course cautions and loads of wheel-to-wheel racing. Team Principal Brent O’Neill is proud of the progress made this season.
“We welcomed in a new pairing this season which included an LMP3 rookie, Oscar,” O’Neill said. “Starting from a blank canvas at Daytona we’ve really been able to help shape Oscar into a better driver who is more comfortable in the Ligier JSP320 platform. A lot of that came from Dan helping him understand the nuances of the car and the tracks, he’s been a really great teammate to Oscar.”
Driver Dan Goldburg capped off his third season in IMSA Prototype Challenge with a second-row start. It was a cool morning at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta creating the impossible task of getting and keeping tire temperatures up; this resulted in no less than two full course cautions in Goldburg’s 50-minute stint. Goldburg’s seasoned race craft shined through as he focused on clean and consistent laps so teammate Oscar Bitar had a car to bring to the finish.
With a chill still in the air, Bitar climbed aboard the No. 6 with 45-minutes remaining. Similar to Goldburg, nearly one/third of his stint was spent under full course caution. Ultimately the limited green flag running and various other factors allowed Bitar to finish in tenth place.
This concludes the 2022 IMSA Prototype Challenge season. Now, all eyes turn to the team’s sister program in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship and its finale, the Motul Petit Le Mans. The green flag drops on the 10-hour race tomorrow, October 1, at 12:10 p.m. EDT, broadcast live on NBC and Peacock TV. For more information on the event visit https://www.imsa.com/events/2022-motul-petit-le-mans/.
QUOTE BOARD
Dan Goldburg, Driver of the No. 6 Ligier JSP320
“I had a good run in qualifying to earn fourth place,” Goldburg said. “That was my fastest lap yet around Road Atlanta so I'm happy with that. My rear tires took a bit longer to come up to temperature when the race started so I didn't have the best first few laps. Once everything was heated up I felt good but I couldn't get around the car in fifth place even though he was holding me up in most places. It's not the easiest to pass in these LMP3s at Road Atlanta. All in all, a good run, and I got valuable track time to prep me for the main event tomorrow, the Motul Petit Le Mans.”
Oscar Bitar, Driver of the No. 6 Ligier JSP320
“Since Daytona I’ve had big improvements,” Bitar said. “From VIR to here at Road Atlanta, I’ve also had great improvement. I’m much more comfortable and better in the car than I was at the start of the season. During the race it was a little bit confusing, I did not realize the person I was racing behind me was actually a lap ahead of me. I was fighting for position and should not have been. I’m still learning and look forward to learning more as we work towards next year. It was a great and constructive year for me.”