Performance Tech Motorsports Excited for 2021 In Wake of IMSA Prototype Challenge Season Finale
Performance Tech Motorsports celebrated prevailing through the 2020 race season at MICHELIN Raceway Road Atlanta with the IMSA Prototype Challenge series.
The team entered the IMSA Prototype Challenge season finale optimistic but cautious with two impressive driver lineups facing poor Balance of Performance for the pair of Ligier LMP3 entries. The two Ligiers spent the majority of the race battling in the top-five only to have podium aspirations thwarted when a full-course caution came out with 11 minutes remaining. Still, the team persevered and leaves the weekend proud of its 2020 efforts and excited for its 2021 plans.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the guys this weekend,” Team Principal Brent O’Neill said. “Of course, we always want to walk away from the weekend with a couple of podiums but overall this was an ideal way to end the season. The drivers were quick and consistent, the crew was great, and everyone is happy. This is great momentum as we look to 2021 and get excited about all of our perspective plans.”
Cameron Cassels brought the No. 75 VB Enviro Care LMP3 to the green flag in eighth place. He showcased one of the best avoidances of the season as a competitor spun and stopped directly on the racing line ahead of him. Cassels smoothly moved around the spun car at the last second while keeping control of the No. 75 without losing pace. He closed out his stint with consistent racecraft placing the reins in Stephen Simpson's hands with 2 hours and 15-minutes remaining.
Simpson settled in with ease making brisk work of picking off his competition. With teammate Rasmus Lindh directly behind him in the No. 6, the pair worked together to move into the top-five where they would leap-frog one another for the majority of the stint. He pushed as high up the field of Norma race cars as he could finally taking the checkered flag in the No. 75 VB Enviro Care Ligier LMP3 in fifth.
Dan Goldburg had a stellar start in the No. 6 Motel 6 Ligier LMP3 jumping two positions, from sixth to fourth place. A short yellow came out only 10-minutes into the race giving him the opportunity he needed to break into the top-three on the restart. Goldburg ran the remainder of his stint on defense finally handing the car over to Lindh with 2 hours and 12 minutes remaining.
Lindh was primed for success as he reentered the track for his final stint of the 2020 season. He fought to the very last second for precious points, zeroed in on the championship for his teammate Goldburg. For the final 35-minuts of the race Lindh struggled with a cracked header causing the No. 6 to be significantly down on power. After a hard-fought race, Lindh brought it home in eighth place allowing Goldburg to finish fourth in the IMSA Prototype Challenge championship.
The team returns to the track tomorrow for the 23rd running of the Motul Petit Le Mans. The race begins at 12:40 p.m. ET and will be live on NBCSN and NBC Sports Gold TrackPass through its entirety. For a more detailed broadcast schedule and ticket sales visit: https://www.imsa.com/events/motul-petit-le-mans/.
Quote Board:
Cameron Cassels, Driver of the No. 75 VB Enviro Care Ligier LMP3
“I think this weekend was unfortunate because it was the last race of the season, but it was great because we took a huge step forward,” Cassels said. “I’m pretty grateful to Stephen that he was able to join us and help get us up to where we need to be to fight. At a track like this, it’s hard because we don’t have the straight-line speed that the Norma has. With all that said I think we did a great job optimizing what we had. I made a few mistakes at the beginning of the race, but I worked hard to recover from that. Now I’m just looking forward to next season.”
Stephen Simpson, Driver of the No. 75 VB Enviro Care Ligier LMP3
“First of all, it was great to drive with Cameron for the first time,” Simpson said. “I think we got on really great and am pleased with how our relationship grew. It was great driving with Performance Tech for the first time as well. It’s always going to be new and different when you join a team on a race weekend, but the guys made me feel comfortable and at home. It was enjoyable getting to know everyone.”
“It’s been two years since I’ve driven an LMP3 so it was a little bit of getting back into the swing of things. At the end of the race, I feel like it’s not the position that we want but we got everything out of the car. I feel good that I didn’t leave anything on the table, we maximized what we had. There’s a big difference between the Ligier and the Norma but that’s nothing I can control right now so as far I was concerned, I just wanted to put my head down and maximize what we had.”
Dan Goldbrug, Driver of the No. 6 Motel Ligier LMP3
“First I have to thank Motel 6, without them we would not have been able to do this whole season,” Goldburg said. “It was my first year back in IMSA Prototype Challenge and Rasmus’s first year in the LMP3 and overall it went great. I finished fourth in the championships which you have to be happy about.
“Ever since Rasmus joined me halfway through the season, I’ve learned so much and think I’m on a good trajectory for next year which I’m really excited for. Today was probably one of my best runs. I felt really confident and was happy with my racecraft on the starts and my speed. Like Rasmus said we had some issues with the exhaust that caused us to lose top speed. We didn’t finish where we could have but overall, I’m really happy with the year and looking forward to next year.”
Rasmus Lindh, Driver of the No. 6 Motel Ligier LMP3
“The speed of the car was not bad,” Lindh said. “We lost position in the pitstop because of the yellow flag but overall the crew was great in the pits. For the second half of the race, we had an exhaust leak that made me lose a lot of power on the straights. I want to thank Motel 6 and Performance Tech for this year, and I hope we can continue in 2021.”