Juan Pablo Montoya and team-mate Dane Cameron believe that Acura Team Penske will have the speed to challenge for victory in the Weathertech 240 at Daytona if mechanical issues that have previously plagued the team at longer races don’t become a factor.
Montoya and Cameron are the reigning DPi champions, but neither of the Team Penske cars have tasted victory at the Daytona International Speedway since the team debuted its Acura ARX-05 prototype in 2018.
Despite not taking victory in any of the Endurance Cup rounds, the pairing made their way to the 2019 crown with victories in sprint rounds at Mid-Ohio, Belle Isle and Laguna Seca.
With a shorter, summer round at Daytona returning to the American endurance calendar for the first time since the Brumos Porsche 250 in 2010, Motorsport Week asked Montoya and Cameron in a press conference videocall if the shorter race could benefit them at a track where they have previously been unlucky.
“I think for us, the longest races just had issues,” said Montoya. “I don’t think we’ve done, apart from Petit last year, we haven’t done a single race where we haven’t had any mechanical issues on the car. Electronic issues or IMSA telemetry issues.
“Last year in Sebring, we had to stop because the telemetry from IMSA wasn’t working, for example, and honestly, the last three Daytonas, we had issues. If we don’t have any issues, I think the speed is going to be good.
“I think the Mazdas are going to be crazy strong again, but we always find ways to end up up there at the end of the races and I’m sure me and Dane are going to give them some hell here.”
“I think like Juan said, barring any unforeseen issues, which is always what has caught us out there for whatever reason,” added Cameron. “Watkins [Glen] is the only one that is sort of been okay to us, but every year we seem to about to run out of fuel there, but aside from that, we’ve been quick enough to run in the top three there every year.
“It’s just been some random thing that’s come up. I think we’ll have pace to contend, we’ll see what happens.
“I think the bigger question will be how you approach the car in much different weather conditions, and it being such a short race, maybe you can be more aggressive with your setup, thinks like that. So definitely a lot of new things.”
