DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. (April 5, 2015)- Performance Tech Motorsports will pair the sounds of jazz with roaring engines for Rounds 3 and 4 of Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda at NOLA Motorsports Park.

 

After a successful first two rounds of the season, the team is sure its next podium is in the bayou. Prototype Lites will run at the same event as the Verizon IndyCar Series for the inaugural Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana.

 

 

(left to right) Alon, Janco, Versteeg

The trio of Robert Alon, Joel Janco and Austin Versteeg kicked off the season March 18-20 at Sebring International Raceway with a strong start, earning Performance Tech’s fourth consecutive podium appearance at Sebring.

 

Alon finished third in Round 2 while Janco finished second in the Masters Championship podium in both races. Rookie Versteeg had a top-five finish in Round 1 but faced a mechanical issue in Round 2.

 

Team Principal Brent O’Neill took a step back after Sebring to re-evaluate the team’s progress and make adjustments. The team invested in a private test day to give its drivers more track time, and O’Neill expects that to deliver sound results and consistency on the 2.74-mile circuit at NOLA Motorsports Park.

 

“I think our test session will pay dividends when we’re there,” O’Neill said. “We were able to have a day of testing rather than a couple of sessions. I think we still have some things to work out with paddle shifters; this is a spec series, after all.

 

 

Versteeg at Sebring International Raceway

“After Sebring, I’m pretty impressed with Austin. We aren’t sure what happened with his car in Race 2. It shut off and recycled through the ignition. He could have had two top-five finishes. I think he’ll be competitive at NOLA.

 

“I don’t think it’ll be long before we see Robert on the top step of the podium. He has a lot more focus this season. With a year under his belt, he is much more focused on his racecraft. The same goes for Joel.

 

“We’ll work with him (Janco) on getting out of the box at the start. He ran similar lap times to John Falb; he just couldn’t close the gap. So we’ll work on that. He’s done a great job at racing clean this year. He’s probably in the best shape he’s been in all his life physically and mentally.”

 

The weekend kicks off for Prototype Lites with practice at 4 p.m. (CT) Thursday, April 9, with another session at 9:40 a.m. Friday. Qualifying will take place at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, April 11 with Race 1, a 30-minute sprint, following at 1:35 p.m. Race 2, set for 45 minutes, will take place at 9:15 a.m. Sunday, April 12, prior to the Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana.

 

To keep up with the on-track action, follow @IMSALive on Twitter or visit scoring.imsa.com.

 

Keep up with Performance Tech Motorsports by following the team on  Facebook and Twitter at @Perf_Tech. For more information on the team, visit performancetechmotorsports.com.

 

ABOUT PERFORMANCE TECH MOTORSPORTS:

Competing in IMSA races for nearly three decades as a driver and/or team manager, Brent O’Neill founded Performance Tech Motorsports with the goal to help drivers become more competitive and move up the racing ladder. Whether you are a driver or a sponsoring company or team owner/partner, it takes more than talent, money and desire to win a racing championship. It takes racing management experience. With thirty one years in the racing business and a cumulative team experience of over 110 years, Performance Tech Motorsports has a full range of leading edge engineering, vehicle enhancement, program management/logistics and at track support to help our clients win on and off the track.