Performance Tech Motorsports Focus for The Glen
DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. (May 23, 2018) – Performance Tech Motorsports is focused forward as they prepare for rigorous testing in place of competing at Detroit Belle Isle.
After careful consideration, Performance Tech Motorsports has decided to forgo the Detroit Grand Prix Presented by Lear. The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series joins Verizon IndyCar for two races a year, both of which are street courses. With an abridged on-track schedule due to the merge, Team Principal Brent O'Neill has decided this is the best choice for both the team and the drivers.
"Detroit is a great event but we're going to skip the race this year in favor of more testing," O'Neill said. "Being that Detroit is a street course and a non IMSA weekend it just doesn't get us the quality track time we are wanting right now. I spoke with Kyle and James and they agreed we could make better use of our time if we spent the budget on testing and prepared for Watkins Glen."
"We're excited to go back to The Glen this year because its Centinel Spine's home race and they have a few special things planned for the race. We look forward to doing the remainder of the WeatherTech season and will miss the great fans at Detroit. But we’re excited to see the results testing can bring."
The Raceway at Belle Isle Park is not available to teams for testing throughout the year, unlike most of the tracks on the series circuit due to it being a street course. The absence of testing opportunities combined with the lack of on-track time during the weekend makes the race prone to more incidents creating a rigid learning experience.
With Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen quickly approaching the team prefers to keep its focus on the endurance event. Over the course of this season, the team has seen its best finishes in the endurance races.
The ORECA 07 LMP2 is built strong and reliable, making it ideal for the long hours on strenuous courses featured in the Tequila Patron North American Endurance Championship. With Performance Tech’s strong foundation in endurance racing, this increase in the team's test budget will allow the finer details to be dialed in for The Glen.
Performance Tech Motorsports’ No. 38 Centinel Spine/ Restitute Health will rejoin the series at Watkins Glenn International Raceway for Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glenn. The historic 3.4-mile track is located in the heart of the Finger Lakes Region, promising both great scenery and racing. The race will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1 through its entirety as well as scoring.imsa.com and imsatv.imsa.com. For schedule details visit imsa.com.