Bowmanville, Ontario - Performance Tech Motorsports set a qualifying lap record and laid down the fastest lap in the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix Presented by Hawk Performance on Sunday despite dropping out of the race early due to bad fuel.

The No. 38 Prototype Challenge car finished seventh in class, retiring five minutes before the end of the two-hour, 40-minute race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Performance Tech was 37 laps down when the car retired.

James French, who set a qualifying lap record and won the TOTAL Pole Award, started the race with a fast pace. French, from Sheboygan, Wisconsin, was creating a gap on the No. 11 of Chris Cumming when he reported a problem.

French radioed that the car behaved as if it was out of fuel and was losing power. The No. 38 rolled to a slow halt and was towed to the paddock for repair.

The team ran diagnostics on the car and eventually returned it to the 10-turn, 2.549-mile (3.957 km) circuit. French turned clean laps, and the worst seemed to be over.

Conor Daly took over for French with 45 minutes remaining. The car had no issues for the 38 minutes French was on track after re-entering the race.

During his stint, Daly set the fastest lap in the PC class with a time of 1 minute, 11.360 seconds.

Shortly after Daly set his fast lap, he reported the car was low on fuel. Lead Engineer Ryan McCarthy told Daly to switch into reserve fuel. The switch made no difference in performance, and the car again began losing power.

Daly and the No. 38 limped back to the pit box. The car did not restart, and the team retired early.

"It's a shame, I hate it for everybody," McCarthy said. "The whole team worked really hard this weekend. We fought our way to the front. James French did a great job putting the car on pole. I think we had the car to beat this weekend.

"We had the fastest lap of the race and the best drivers out there. But it just doesn't always go your way, just more bad luck. I'm really proud of all the guys on the team; they kept their morale up and worked hard to get the car back out there. We'll be back in Lime Rock."

Team Principal Brent O'Neill was optimistic after winning pole that the team would take home its first win of the season and fourth podium finish. When the fuel issue first arose and put the team 37 laps down, he was heartbroken for his crew and drivers.

"Once again on the pole, we were driving away from the field, but we got a bad drum of fuel, and it killed the race," O'Neill said. "We got the car up and running after James was towed in, Conor went back out there had the fastest lap of the day, and then the car quit on us again. It's just a shame for the entire team. Everybody worked so hard this week after the wreck at The Glen. It's just heartbreaking."

Performance Tech's next chance at a podium finish is at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Connecticut, for Round 8 of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. The race takes place July 24-25 and will be televised on FOX Sports 1.

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.