Cameron Cassels Road to 24

Performance Tech Motorsports driver Cameron Cassels has been on the journey of a lifetime to the 24 Hours of Le Mans; in June of 2020, he’ll finally see his work realized.

Across all levels of sports car racing, you’ll meet very few drivers who don’t rate the 24 Hours of Le Mans as the pinnacle of the sport. For the past 87 years, drivers and fans from across the globe have made the pilgrimage to Circuit de la Sarthe in rural Le Mans, France, to watch man and machine outlast the test of time. On June 13, 2020 Cassels and Performance Tech Motorsports will be immortalized as the first American prototype team to compete in this esteemed event.

Each year the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship recognizes the stature of Le Mans through the Jim Trueman Award. Throughout the season the bronze rated driver in each car is awarded points per race in the LMP2 class. At the end of the season, the driver with the most points is presented with an invitation for him or her and their team to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Cassels was the 2019 recipient of the Jim Trueman Award, providing him with an opportunity he never could have imagined.

“I grew up in a remote Northern community in Alberta, Canada,” Cassels said. “Although I was very aware of the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans, there was no road map or access to local resources to guide an enthusiast to that end goal. With that in mind, a track or race had never been a bucket list item for me, rather it is an opportunity to compete and push myself.

“I have never wanted to race somewhere just to race there. It is important for me to be competitive or not bother being there at all, no matter how amazing the event is. That being said, the 24 Hours of Le Mans has definitely become a bucket list event! Getting an invitation to Le Mans with the Jim Trueman Award is quite restrictive so you just have to take advantage of any opportunity to experience an event as prestigious as Le Mans when you get it.”

Cassels may have punched his ticket to Le Mans in a Prototype but his racing roots actually stem from GT cars. He kick-started his racing career in 2015 with a Porsche Cayman 997 in IMSA MICHELIN Pilot Challenge; again racing the Porsche in 2016. In true Cassels fashion, 2017 consisted of double duty for the Alberta-native running a Porsche Cayman GT4 MR in IMSA MICHELIN Pilot Challenge and SRO Pirelli GT4 America.

The tides turned in 2018 when Cassels experienced his first season in a Ligier JS P3 with Performance Tech Motorsports, winning the Masters Championship in IMSA Prototype Challenge. The speed and outright challenge Cassels experienced in the prototype ignited a spark to push his threshold further by testing an ORECA LMP2 07. He was immediately hooked and arranged to compete in a full season of LMP2 in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship while simultaneously racing in his second full season of IMSA Prototype Challenge making 2019 his biggest season yet.

“It is hard to really pick one highlight from the 2019 season,” Cassels said. “Running my first 24 Hours of Daytona was an incredible experience. It was particularly special having my wife and daughter there to share it with me. Also, running the race with my friends Robert Masson and Kyle Masson, who I met when we all did our very first Skip Barber race in 2015, was pretty cool, too. The incredible talent in each of the classes of the IMSA WeatherTech series has really forced me to raise my game. I think the biggest thing I improved on this year is being efficient managing my race pace in traffic where we had mixed classes fighting for track position.”

The leaps and bounds Cassels made in 2019 have set him up for an even bigger 2020 as he prepares for the 88th running of 24 Hours of Le Mans while balancing a full season of racing in North America. The offseason is allowing him to do an overhaul on his goals to maximize his time behind the wheel while increasing the efficiency of his data and setup debrief procedures. The race against the clock begins long before the fall of the green flag on June 13 making each day of preparation crucial for Cassels.

He will also continue with endurance training in and out of the car. His mind and body must be at peak for performance for any race he partakes in, but even more so for 24 hours of racing around the 38 turn, 8.47-mile Circuit de la Sarthe. He will have only one day of testing on the track before arriving for the race weekend so hours spent on the simulator or reviewing old race footage will be the only opportunity Cassels has to memorize the track.

“Focusing on seat time in prototypes will be one of the most important tasks I can do to best prepare for my first entry into the 24 Hours of Le Mans,” Cassels said. “My time GT racing taught me a lot about being comfortable and assertive in traffic so now it’s just about running laps. Not running a GT car on the same race weekends will also allow me to spend more time understanding setups and reviewing data.

“Along the way, of course, there will be tons of simulator time as well as continuing my physical training. I am actually in the process of putting a second simulator together to have a bit of fun with my kids. They keep telling me that my days are numbered staying in front of them! Those that know me also know that I take racing incredibly seriously and that I put in a tremendous amount of work to improve. I have a lot of hard work ahead of me as I prepare for 2020 with the great folks at Performance Tech.”

The remainder of Cassels 2020 plans are still in the works but you can guarantee his name will be on the timing sheets at the official Le Mans test on June 1. Cassels has built the foundation for this event alongside Performance Tech Motorsports Team Principal Brent O’Neill and his crew making this team invitation all the more special. For more information on the event, ticket prices and official schedules visit https://www.lemans.org/en/24-hours-of-le-mans.

“If it were not for all of the support from my friend Brent O’Neill throughout the last two years, I would not be in a position to even talk about this today,” Cassels said. “To be able to head to Le Mans and share the experience with Brent and the guys that bust their humps to keep the car on the track is the cherry on top of the cake. As a driver, having the prospect of racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans is the pinnacle of motor racing. It is truly the Grand Prix of endurance racing. There are so many great stories of drivers and machines since the first race in 1923 and adding our names to the list is almost surreal.”

“To say that I have been fortunate to have been able to work with some really fantastic people along the way would be an understatement. I would run out of room on this page to list them all, but you all know who you are, and I cannot thank you enough for the great support, guidance and friendship you offered. So, for the 88th running of the 24 hours Le Mans, turn on the TV, sit back, grab a coffee and know that your support is why I am out there.”