Westward Expansion: Performance Tech Motorsports at Laguna Seca
Performance Tech Motorsports is headed west with the No. 38 Centinel Spine ORECA LMP2 for its maiden voyage around WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California.
Serving as the penultimate event for the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship, the IMSA Monterey SportsCar Championship Powered by McLaren takes place on a track unlike any other previous location. After forgoing WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in 2018, Performance Tech Motorsports is headed to the 11 Turn, 2.34-mile track sitting second in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship LMP2 championship. Team Principal Brent O’Neill has seen his crew and drivers succeed at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca before and has no doubt they can outperform all past efforts.
“We’ve shown all season we have the pace and skill to be on the top step of the podium,” O’Neill said. “Cameron has grown leaps and bounds in his race craft the whole year. It would be great to see him win at his home track. Last time we were here Kyle finished third in both of his races and it was his first time at the track so I know he’ll be up to speed and laying down fast laps without missing a beat this weekend. We’re going to go out there and give it everything we’ve got to get our points lead back headed into Road Atlanta.”
Driver Cameron Cassels, British Columbia, has experience on his side in regards to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Since 2016 he has competed in six IMSA sanctioned races around the scenic circuit, earning a spot on the podium for four of the events. Most notably he won in the highly competitive GS Class in MICHELIN Pilot Challenge, a series where managing traffic amongst a plethora of manufacturers is key. Similar to his 2016 endeavors, Cassels will have to employ grace and speed to navigate the traffic of four classes to stand atop the podium this weekend.
Driver Kyle Masson’s, Windemere, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca statistics are equally as impressive as Cassels, earning two podiums over the course of three IMSA Prototype Challenge races. Having run laps comparable with the DPI class throughout this season Masson will be a force to be reckoned with around the technical circuit. Each of the 11 turns around the circuit presents a new challenge, most especially Turn 8 that is known as the Corkscrew due to its twist and 300 ft. elevation change. The specific challenges presented by Laguna Seca can only can be mastered by drivers who have refined race craft like Masson’s.
Performance Tech Motorsports’ weekend begins Friday, September 13 with Practice One at 1:55 p.m. ET followed by Practice Two at 6:15 p.m. The No. 38 Centinel Spine ORECA LMP2 takes to the track once more Saturday, September 14 for Practice Three at 11:45 a.m. and Qualifying at 4:30 p.m. The two hour and 40-minute IMSA Monterey SportsCar Championship Powered by McLaren race begins Sunday, September 15 at 3:05 p.m. ET. For more information on the schedule or where to buy tickets visit https://www.imsa.com/events/2019-weathertech-raceway-laguna-seca.