Performance Tech Motorsports and the Ligier JS P320 dominate the NASA Championships!

Another victory for the Ligier JS P320 on the American continent on 19th September 2021. Performance Tech Motorsports won the NASA Championships on the Daytona International Speedway circuit with its #6 Ligier JS P320 driven by Dan Goldburg from a Cadillac DPi. American Brent O'Neill's team entered three Ligier JS P320s and a Ligier JS P3, which were among the 500 cars down to race in this event. The four Ligiers built by the French constructor finished in the top 5 with John DeAngelis in #38 in second place while Frank Hindman finished fourth at the wheel of #171 with Dmitri Goliakov fifth in the #12 Ligier JS P3.

The Ligier JS P320, the new-generation LMP3 chassis built by Ligier Automotive, made its debut on American soil in 2021 in a blaze of glory. The French car won the Daytona 24 and the Sebring 12 Hours as well as all the rounds of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and has already clinched two wins and eight podium finishes out of a possible 12 in the IMSA Prototype Challenge.

For the first time the Ligier JS P320 was entered for the NASA Championships, the National Auto Sport Association American Championship dedicated to amateur drivers. This championship brings together more than 500 cars on a different iconic circuit every year. In 2021, the drivers found themselves on the Daytona International Speedway track. The Performance Tech Motorsports team, which is competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with its #38 Ligier JS P320 and in the IMSA Prototype Challenge with its #6 Ligier JS P320, entered three Ligier JS P320s and a Ligier JS P3 in the Super Unlimited category in which there were around 10 cars, in particular other sports prototypes including a Cadillac DPi and an NP01, Supercars (a Praga R) and an F1 Wolf Mistral.

The #6 Ligier JS P320 driven by Dan Goldburg soon set the oval alight in the free practice session on Thursday 16th September. He also snatched pole position in front of the Cadillac DPi after the two qualifying races on Friday and Saturday. In Sunday's event, the Ligier JS P320 continued in the same vein. If #6 was pushed back to second for part of the race Goldburg retook the lead, opened up a gap over his rivals and went on to cross the finishing line in first place. He also set the fastest lap of the race in 1:45.598s.

“The Motel 6 Ligier ran at the front of every session from Thursday through Sunday, said Dan Goldburg. We executed a well thought out plan this weekend. We used the test day Thursday to experiment with various setup ideas. Then starting Friday, we knew each session compounds upon the prior session result to lead up to the final on Sunday.  We had the fastest time in every session and won every qualifying race, which put us on the pole for Sunday.  From there it was a challenging final race as faster cars were competing against me. I had to use all the tools in my kit to manage traffic and build a big enough gap quick enough so that the faster cars couldn't catch me on the straight.

“I definitely could not have done it without the whole Performance Tech team. From Brent at the top down to everyone on the team they have been really big supporters of me since I came back to racing in 2018.  Without them, I couldn't have achieved these championships.”

John DeAngelis at the wheel of the #38 Ligier JS P320 came home second. “We had a lot of track time Thursday through Saturday with testing, qualifying, qualifying races, etc.” DeAngelis said. “The theme of the week was ‘keep it clean and make it to Sunday' for the Championship race. So, to be on the podium at Daytona, with this level of competition from around the country is truly a blessing

The team's other two Ligiers saw the flag in fourth (#171 Ligier JS P320 driven by Franck Hindman) and fifth positions (Dmitri Goliakov's #12 Ligier JS P3). It was a really great result for these drivers having their maiden outing in the French cars!

The team is now focused on the next round of the IMSA Prototype Challenge on the VIRginia International Raceway between 8 - 10 October 2021.

To consult the list of entries for the NASA Championships, CLICK HERE

To consult the complete results, CLICK HERE.