Sixth Place Finish for Performance Tech Motorsports at Road America
Performance Tech Motorsports had a strong weekend at Road America in the face of adversity.
The penultimate round of the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship saw a shakeup in the No. 38 CardioAccess Ligier JSP320’s lineup, featuring long-time team member and Wisconsin native James French, and the team’s 2022 endurance driver Cameron Shields. The pair had immediate chemistry as expected and brought the team home strong points with a sixth place finish.
Team Principal Brent O’Neill is proud of the group’s efforts, especially with the changes it faced this weekend.
“Bringing a new driver pairing together mid-season is always tricky but these guys did a phenomenal job,” O’Neill said. “James and Cameron figured out how to communicate with one another and the crew to get the car set up for success. The changing weather conditions definitely made it tricky out there but they kept their nose clean and are we’re now looking good going into the finale.”
The weekend served as Shields’ first non-endurance event in the No. 38, however, he adjusted to sprint racing with ease, starting the race from the third row. He took the green flag on the hunt for success, charging into second place within the first seven laps. A steady rain began to fall 25-minutes into his stint followed shortly by the first full course caution allowing Shields to duck into the pitlane for a short pitstop. This would set him and the team up for a great pitstop later in the race for co-driver French to take the reins.
Driver French has driven with Performance Tech Motorsports for nearly a decade. Road America is his home track allowing him to seamlessly mesh back into the program. French ran a stellar stint, working his way as high as first place before pit cycles and constantly changing weather conditions played out allowing him to finish in sixth place.
The No. 38 Ligier JSP320 now heads for the 2022 season finale; The Motul Petit Le Mans. The historic 10-hour event takes place September 28-October 1 and will feature both the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship and IMSA Prototype Challenge. For event details and ticket sales visit https://www.imsa.com/events/2022-motul-petit-le-mans/.
Cameron Shields, Driver of the No. 38 Ligier JSP320
“Another great weekend with Performance Tech racing at Road America in LMP3,” Shields said. “The weekend got off to a tough start due to technical difficulties - our transponder malfunctioned and brake issues slowed our progress in practice and limited our testing time. But the team did a fantastic job to get the car back to 100% for the race today.”
“My stint went very well. After starting in fifth place, I was up to second within two laps and we maintained the ability to contest for the win through the tough, wet conditions. As the track began to dry in the final hour, unfortunately our car wasn't quite as fast, making it a tough race for James.”