Constant Contenders

Subtitle:Communication, Teamwork Help Performance Tech Become Elite Team In Series

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 22, 2015) – Performance Tech Motorsports is a mainstay of success in the IMSA Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda.

Performance Tech has been in the championship hunt every year since the team joined the series in 2007. The hard-working group has won the Team Championship three times, most recently in 2013. This season the team sits second in the Team Championship, and all three of the team’s drivers is in the top five of his respective Drivers Championship.

Robert Alon is in third place in the overall Lites 1 championship, followed by Austin Versteeg in fifth. Joel Janco sits in second in the L1 Masters championship.

Every season holds its ups and downs, but Performance Tech Team Principal Brent O’Neill promises old-fashioned hard work keeps his team at the top of the charts.

“We just work hard at it,” O’Neill said. “Sometimes JDC has had better cars than us this year, but we still figure it out. A big part of our development is thanks to (driver coach) Jonatan Jorge. I let him do what he needs to do to get results.

“I allow people to do their job; I get out of the way. Our team has good energy. We have good people, and that breeds a good environment for people to work and grow in.”

Performance Tech has developed an unbiased system that allows drivers to work together to grow regardless of the stage of their career. This system includes sharing and studying data together.

O’Neill takes particular pride in the development system that helps Performance Tech drivers progress in their career.

“They win and lose together,” O’Neill said. “We do share data; it goes back to having one driver coach to manage it all. They all sit down with J.J. (Jonatan Jorge) and Ryan McCarthy, our engineer, and go over everything after each session. They push each other. Everyone has to work together to be successful.”

The bonus of progressing drivers in their career and helping them develop their racecraft is seen in the team’s race shop. The main office holds multiple trophies and pole award checks from many years of Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda racing. The varied names printed on the awards serve as a reminder that each individual has made significant, unique contributions to the team.

The 2015 Performance Tech lineup spans multiple generations. Each driver has a varied history of driving experience, ranging from a novice level to advanced.

“They bounce ideas of each other because they’re each coming from different places,” O’Neill said. “Robert learns at an extremely fast pace. Austin comes in with a fresh mindset coming out of go-karting. Joel has been in the series for a while; he’s very familiar with the car. They have the opportunity to build on one another. They better each other.”

The Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda series will finish the 2015 season at Road Atlanta Sept. 30-Oct. 2 as part of Petit Le Mans Powered by Mazda weekend. With 2015 almost done, O’Neill has started making plans for another run at a championship next season.

“We’ll change things up a little next year,” O’Neill said. “JDC had us covered this year, and Kenton (Koch) did a great job in the car. Next year I think we’ll look to keep three cars in our lineup, maybe four. That’s a solid, manageable number that seems to work well.

“We’re already starting to work on testing schedules and things for 2016. We’ll probably start implementing a few changes in Atlanta since the championship is already wrapped up. We’ll be back at it again next year.”