Sargeant Has “No Long-Term Goal” Ahead of Racing Return

Photo: MPS Agency

Logan Sargeant has downplayed making any long-term commitments beyond his recently confirmed return to racing in PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports’ LMP2 entry in the final two IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship rounds, admitting that he’s “only looking at these next two races” for the time being.

The 23-year-old Floridian, who made 36 Formula 1 starts between 2023-24, will make his WeatherTech Championship debut in next month’s Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway before closing out the season at Motul Petit Le Mans in PR1/Mathiasen’s No. 52 Oreca 07 Gibson alongside co-drivers Benjamin Pedersen and Naveen Rao.

While having limited previous sports car racing experience, Sargeant was initially announced to be part of Genesis’ ‘trajectory program’ for this year’s European Le Mans Series season, which he ultimately backed out of at the 11th hour.

This month’s six-hour Indianapolis race will mark Sargeant’s first race since his exit from F1.

Speaking to reporters in a pre-event IMSA Zoom call on Wednesday, Sargeant, who turned his first laps with the team in a recent test at Indianapolis, stressed that his long-term future hasn’t been planned out beyond this current two-race deal.

“I think right now there’s really no long-term goal,” he said. “It’s really, I have a great opportunity in front of me with these last two races in IMSA. It’s a championship I’ve always been interested in, and it’s a great team and a great car to be in.

“And I think, truthfully, I’m very nearsighted right now. I just want to, for one, get back in a car, [and] really find my rhythm again, which I feel like already was coming very naturally in the test. Keep building upon that, and, [and] deliver good results.

“I’m really only looking at these next two races and then we’ll see what happens for next year.

“But I’d be more than happy to have a long career in sports cars. That would be an exciting path forward for me, but no clear path at the moment.”

When asked if his performance in the two-race run with PR1/Mathiasen will dictate his future, Sargeant said he feels “prepared” for the immediate task at hand.

“Performance always matters, at the end of the day,” he said. “Obviously, I’ve taken a break, so there’s a slight factor of building back up, but like I said, I had that test, I have a test before Atlanta. We used that time extremely valuably.

“We’ve done a great job with that, and you know, I don’t go into Indy feeling underprepared, I go into Indy feeling great, and that’s how I look at it.

“I go in and I feel prepared, I feel good. And I’m just ready to deliver for the team and hopefully produce good results and that in turn will result in doors opening for next year or so. That’s how I’m looking at it.”

Sargeant wouldn’t expand on his ultimate goals, or the potential of aligning with a manufacturer in top-class prototype racing but admitted that he’s been a fan of sports car racing and previously contested a handful of LMP2 and GT3 races before his move into F1.

“I think for the most part, I’ve watched all of [the big sports car racing enduros] and obviously… Daytona, Le Mans are two extremely special races,” he said.

“I have had the pleasure of driving at Le Mans, not in the 24, and that was a super special experience.

“Looking ahead to the next two races, I think they’re great races, especially Petit. It’s one that I’m really looking forward to at a track that I’ve really been excited to drive.

“Again, [it’s] great opportunity to learn two great tracks in America, to get back into the endurance groove as I’ve been away from it for a few years now and dealing with traffic management, driver changes, all of that.

“So that’s another part of it that is often underlooked, but another part of it that I’m excited to grab ahold of.”

Oergel: Everything “Really Aligned Well” to Draft Sargeant into Lineup

Team principal Bobby Oergel said the stars aligned for Sargeant, a Platinum-rated driver, to join the Bronze-rated Rao and Silver-rated Pedersen in the team’s lineup for the final two WeatherTech Championship races.

Typically, a full season LMP2 lineup is comprised up of the mandated Bronze with a Gold or Platinum-rated driver, which would prohibit a Gold/Platinum driver to be the third pilot.

“The year started out with us having Benjamin as our endurance driver and that was the same role that Logan’s taken in now,” explained Oergel.

“The hope was that Benjamin would rise to the occasions and he has. We were fortunate to be able to have him do full season with us and he’s fought hard to show that he’s capable of being that guy.

“Being able to bring Logan in to partake in the thing is absolutely fantastic. It’s kind of the third role at this moment.

“So it’s neat to have two, what I would call ‘gunslingers’ in the package.

“On a lot of levels, you end up with the situation where your Silver is somebody having to guide the ship with, right?

“And this is a little different, being able to have two ship guiders. So it’s pretty nice in that respect for us.”

Oergel, whose team has roots in the U.S. junior open-wheel racing scene, confirmed that he had no prior contact with Sargeant until recently.

“It really came about as Logan mentioned with Oliver Gavin there, just taking on the new [management] role for Logan and looking for a new home to start back into to see if it’s time or not time to get back going for him,” he said.

“We were in the need of having another hardcore guy that could get it done, and we all talked.

“Naveen was coming on at that time because Rodrigo [Sales] wasn’t going be in a position to continue for the remainder [of the season].

“It all just really aligned well.

“I have to say it’s because of everybody’s cool heads and ability to sit down and talk and have open candid conversations, without a bunch of beating around bushes, that’s really how these things work out.”

Source: Sports Car 365