DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. — Performance Tech Motorsports will debut a new driver lineup for the Rolex 24 at Daytona with Dan Goldburg, Hikaru Abe, Nico Pino and Garett Grist.
For the 60th running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the No. 38 Ligier JSP320 will run in its signature red, black and chrome livery with one familiar face, Goldburg, and three new ones, Abe, Pino, and Grist, behind the wheel. The Rolex 24 at Daytona serves as one of the most diverse fields in motorsports; Performance Tech Motorsports is excited to bring four different nationalities to the grid, each providing a unique set of skills that complement one another.
Team Principal Brent O’Neill has worked to find four drivers that mesh for optimal success at the World Center of Racing.
“This is a really great group of guys,” O’Neill said. “This team knows what it takes to win a Rolex 24 and with such strong drivers, I think we have a really strong shot at a run for the top step this year. We’ve tested all of these drivers and I’m really impressed by what they bring to the table, I’m eager to get them all together for the Roar to see what we can get out of our Ligier.”
Drivers Goldburg and Grist are no strangers to the North American endurance circuit, having both driven in it during the 2021 IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Season. Team veteran Goldburg has over a hundred hours of seat time logged in the No. 38 between endurance racing, sprint racing, and testing, making him an invaluable member of the teams’ podium crusade.
“To some degree, I think you can only prepare so much and then you just have to do a Rolex 24 and learn from it,” Goldburg said. “I’ve taken my physical training very seriously for the past two years and I’m in the best shape of my life. I still have further goals to reach with my fitness, but in 2021 the team had me do 3+ hour stints in the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Petit Le Mans. I was much more prepared for that long stint at the Petit vs. Sebring which might have been my fitness, or maybe the prior experience. Either way, I believe I’ve put in the time to be able to tackle the approx. five hours I’ll likely drive in the Rolex 24.”
Grist has extensive prototype racing in his background, most recently in the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
In true fashion, Performance Tech Motorsports is welcoming another young gun under the tent for the event with 17-year-old Pino. He’ll be traveling from Chile while teammate Abe will be flying in from Japan, marking the No. 38 as one of the most diverse cars on the grid. Together, they will make their North America endurance racing debut with a goal to clinch a podium position for the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
This news comes in advance of the team’s first official outing, the Roar Before the Rolex 24 at Daytona Int’l Speedway. The quartet is set to make its debut on Jan. 21. The event will be open to the public as it features the second annual Motul Pole Award 100, the 100-minute qualifying race for the Rolex 24 at Daytona.