Celebrating a Decade of Success at the Twelve Hours of Sebring
When it comes to the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Performance Tech Motorsports has been there and done that.
The Deerfield-based team counts Sebring International Raceway as its home track boasting 39 years of racing at the old military airfield. As it prepares for this year’s running of the Twelve Hours of Sebring the team looks back on the past nine years at the event, with the goal to cap off the decade with its third win.
“We’ve been racing in the Twelve Hours of Sebring since 1983 which is just crazy to think about,” Team Principal Brent O’Neill said. “We have a couple wins, a handful of podium finishes, and a few events we didn’t finish which really shows the range you experience at Sebring. We’ve learned so much each time we run here so we’re hoping to use all that knowledge to put together a third win next month.”
2012
The trip down memory lane starts in 2012 when Performance Tech Motorsports still ran as the No. 18 and ALMS had not yet merged with Grand Am to create what is now referred to as the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship. The team competed in the PC class with the classic open-cockpit Oreca FLM09. With drivers Anthony Nicolosi, Ricardo Vera, and Raphael Matos on board the No. 18 was piloted home in sixth place.
2013
Beginning in 2013 the team introduced a few new faces to the car as well as a new number; Tristan Nunez, Charlie Shears, and David Heinemeier Hanson in the No. 500. The trio meshed immediately demonstrating outright speed in the Oreca FLM09. As the twelfth hour struck they found themselves in third place, earning the team its first podium finish in this decade.
2014
In 2014 the team welcomed back Charlie Shears and Raphael Matos while adding David Ostella to the mix. This was the first season the team introduced the No. 38 to competition, a number that has now become synonymous with Performance Tech Motorsports. A mid-race crash would take the Oreca FLM09 out of contention, leaving the team with no choice but to retire from the event.
2015
With the teams’ signature No. 38 in place 2015 saw the addition of a few steadfast drivers to the paddock; James French, Conor Daly, and, Jerome Mee. This group of drivers shook up the PC class in the Oreca FLM09, further proving that Team Principal Brent O’Neill could take young, talented, drivers and transform them into a professional. Performance Tech Motorsports finished third in 2015, welcoming the second Twelve Hours of Sebring Podium to its resume.
2016
The 2016 season saw another young lineup for this team, featuring James French, Kyle Marcelli, and Josh Norman. By this point, the No. 38 Oreca FLM09 had established its’ signature red and black livery marking it as a stand-out competitor based on both looks and speed. The No. 38 finished the event in fifth place.
2017
The 2017 season was one for the history books as the No. 38 dominated all season with James French, Pato O’Ward, and Kyle Masson. This included the Twelve Hours of Sebring as the trio snagged the Motul Pole Award and the PC class win. This was the sendoff season for the Oreca FLM09, but the No. 38 and its legacy would live on.
2018
In 2018 the series introduced the Prototype class, a mix of LMP2’s and Daytona Prototypes. Performance Tech Motorsports enlisted James French, Pato O’Ward, and Kyle Masson to debut the No.38 Oreca 07 LMP2. The champions were fan-favorites to win the race, however, a clutch failure would cause them to retire just as the sun set over the 17 Turn, 3.74-mile venue.
2019
After a year of acclimating to the No. 38 Oreca 07 LMP2, the team came back to Sebring International Raceway in 2019 with a vengeance. Competing in the LMP2 class, the reins of the No. 38 were placed in the hands of Kyle Masson, Cameron Cassels, and Andrew Evans. Together the trio worked tirelessly to finish on top of the podium, earning the teams’ second Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring win.
2020
Like most events during 2020, the Mobil 1 Twelve Hour of Sebring was atypical to all its previous occurrences, taking place in November rather than March. With Don Yount, Patrick Byrne, and Guy Cosmo at the helm the No. 38 ORECA 07 LMP2 embarked on its final event in the LMP2 class. The trio pushed through its fair share of trials to finish third, earning the teams fifth trip to the podium.
2021
The 2021 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring came amidst the acclimation to the “new normal” created by the COVID-19 pandemic. After a season of turbulent schedules, the team was back with the No. 38, this time on a Ligier JSP320 in the new LMP3 class. The team debuted driver Dan Goldburg, Mateo Llarena, and Rasmus Lindh to the event, snagging the Motul Pole Award with a lap time of 1:56.001. After leading the first half of the race the team faced a catastrophic parts failure ending the No. 38’s podium run early.
Over the past decade, the team has had three car numbers, three types of cars, four different classes, and a plethora of drivers. Amidst these changes, there have also been constants that helped the team stay steady like Principal Brent O’Neill, Team Manager Gwenn O’Neill, Lead Technician Kenny Mosby, and Tire Technician Ronnie Murphy, all of whom will be at the 2022 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts, March 17-19. For more information on the weekend or tickets to cheer the No. 38 on live visit https://www.imsa.com/events/2022-mobil-1-twelve-hours-of-sebring-presented-by-advance-auto-parts/.