Costa Mesa, Calif. (23 June 2015) – Looking at his strong record of success at the track, it is understandable why TruSpeed Autosport's Sloan Urry is so eager to race this weekend at Road America.
In the past two years, Urry has claimed victory, qualified on the front row, and led laps at the legendary road course located in historic Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
In fact, Urry scored a double-podium result last year in IMSA GT3 Cup competition while driving for JDX Racing which included a dominating victory where Urry led the race flag-to-flag. He also led six laps en route to a sixth place finish in 2013 while driving for Effort Racing.
So as the Pirelli World Challenge converges on Road America for Rounds 10 & 11 of the GT Cup presented by MOMO category, Urry is looking forward to his return to the 4-mile, 14-turn circuit. He will pilot the No. 02 SecurityNational Porsche supported by TruSpeed Autosport.
Urry enters the weekend third in the championship standings in what has been a successful first half of the season. Urry has earned six podium results in nine races that have seen a mix of street and road courses as well as a mix of weather conditions as the TruSpeed Autosport team has traveled around the country.
“Road America is one of the most iconic tracks in the United States, and with good reason,” said Urry, who has his eye on victory this weekend. “Even more than the amazing venue itself, is the track. It is a lot of fun because it has a little bit of everything. It has the famous high speed kink, a long duration carousel, a very long front straightaway, the Bill Mitchell Bend and Canada Corner. From elevation change, camber change and varying speed corners, it has it all. I have always enjoyed racing at Road America and have found it takes a lot of concentration to be fast there because of how long it is. My expectations for a race weekend never change, which is always to be at the front but this track adds a bit of confidence for me. I have a good history here and would like to continue that.”
The World Challenge event gets underway at Road America on Thursday with two test sessions to be held ahead of official practice in the afternoon. The GT Cup cars will qualify on Friday with Race 1 and 2 set for Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Tune into www.world-challengetv.com to catch all of the LIVE race action. CBS Sports Network will televise the Road America event on Sunday, July 5 at 2:00 PM ET.
ROAD AMERICA WEEKEND SCHEDULE (All Times Central Time Zone)
THURSDAY, JUNE 25
10:15 AM – 10:45 AM Testing
2:05 PM – 2:35 PM Testing
3:35 PM – 4:20 PM Practice
FRIDAY, JUNE 26
10:00 AM – 10:45 AM Qualifying
SATURDAY, JUNE 27
10:00 AM – 10:30 AM Warm Up
1:35 PM – 2:35 PM Race 1
SUNDAY, JUNE 28
2:25 PM – 3:25 PM Race
Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada (19 May 2015) – It was another podium performance from Sloan Urry in the No. 02 Engel & Volkers / SecurityNational Porsche at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) over the weekend. The 2015 Pirelli World Challenge GT Cup presented by MOMO staged Rounds 8 & 9 of the championship at the Canadian road course on Saturday and Sunday. Urry finished second in Round 8 and delivered Engel & Volkers and SecurityNational its sixth podium result of the year.
Urry qualified the Engel & Volkers / SecurityNational machine second for Race 1 of the weekend and opened the race from the front row. Following the rolling start, Urry had a clean run but a full course caution was displayed on the first lap and the cars circulated under yellow for 20 minutes of the 50-minute race.
When the field went back to green, Urry had a good restart and kept race leader Colin Thompson close in his sights. Inching closer with each lap by, Urry appeared to be in good position to take over the race lead in the final laps. But unfortunately, Urry didn't get the opportunity to try when a yellow was displayed with 13 minutes remaining in the race. When the field went back to green, there was just one lap left and Urry had just one shot at Thompson. Alas on a track notorious for its difficulty in passing, the No. 02 Engel & Volkers / SecurityNational Porsche took the checkered flag second in line.
“I was very excited to go back to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park as I have had success there and enjoy the very quick track,” said Urry. “Unfortunately we were taken out in our second session of the test day, but the TruSpeed guys worked all night to get the car back together and mechanically sound. We had one more practice to shake the car down on Friday and then went straight into qualifying. My pace wasn't where I needed it to be so I saved it for the race and knew I had to push to find pace to go for the win. In Race 1, I was continually modifying my lap to try to find more speed and find a way by for the lead because CTMP is very difficult to pass on. I was continually catching the leader and was hoping to get the chance to make a pass for the lead, but a caution came out. We only had one green flag lap at the end and mine was slowed by a lapped car, so I didn't have a chance to go for it. If we had more green laps, I think we could have had the win.”
Sunday brought a new day of racing for Round 9 and once again Urry lined up on the front row with a second place starting position. Race 2 featured a standing start rather than a rolling start and Urry slotted into second at the green flag.
Urry had a great race as he ran second and focused on taking over the race lead. He remained within half a second of the leading car of Thompson throughout the race – even running just a tenth behind at times.
Minding how difficult it is to pass at the challenging Canadian circuit, Urry knew he had to make his move for the lead when the opportunity presented itself. As he entered Turn 9 late in the race, Urry was right on Thompson's tail and he went to the inside. Both young chargers were hungry for the lead, but instead the close-quarters duel saw them both spinning off track, with Urry able to recover and come home fourth at the finish.
“I never let a big gap develop between myself and Colin (Thompson)”, said Urry. “I learned from Race 1 that even if he was a bit quicker at the start, I would catch him after the tires started to degrade. That's exactly what happened and I took my time to initiate the pass and did it where I have always had success at CTMP on the outside of Turn 8. I gave him room through Turn 8 and was side by side entering Turn 9. I turned in with a little understeer from there being dirt on the track and he turned down and we ended up making contact and both spinning. I lost a few positions but the worst part about it was my front right suspension got damaged so I was driving straight with my wheel at 90 degrees. I did my best to finish the race without putting it in the wall and just gather some points as it was handling very erratically. I feel bad for the guys at TruSpeed because they worked extremely hard this weekend to put our No. 02 Engel & Volkers / SecurityNational car on the top step but we came up short when it was in our grasp. We definitely had the pace to win both races this weekend.”
Sloan Urry will next bring Engel & Volkers / SecurityNational to historic Road America June 26-28for Rounds 10 & 11 of the 2015 Pirelli World Championship.
Costa Mesa, Calif. (12 May 2015) – Of all the stops on the 2015 Pirelli World Challenge calendar, Sloan Urry is especially eager to return to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park this weekend. He won last year's Porsche GT3 Cup race at the track by nearly 13 seconds in a dominating run in which he led 25 laps en route to the victory.
The 2015 event marks Rounds 8 & 9 of the championship and Urry is looking to pick up maximum points at the fast 2.459-mile Canadian road course in Bowmanville, Ontario. Urry currently sits second in the championship with 11 rounds yet to run.
Urry has delivered a solid start to the 2015 season in the No. 02 Engel & Volkers / SecurityNational Porsche and has earned five podium results in seven races. With three second place results followed by two third place finishes in the previous round of Barber Motorsports Park, Urry is all the more hungry for victory.
And the familiar Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, formerly known as Mosport, may be just the place for Urry to take Engel & Volkers and SecurityNational to victory lane for the first time this year. Not only did he take the victory there last year, but he also has several years of experience at the track in Porsche machinery.
“The goal this weekend is to win,” said Urry. “I need to be winning in order to achieve the points that I need toward the championship and I know I'm capable of doing that. The GTA cars make life in the racecar a little more difficult for us, but hopefully this weekend we can catch a good break and not have any interference with our race. I really like Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. I've had some success there so hopefully that will continue through this weekend and we'll have the results we need there.”
The Pirelli World Challenge races are held as part of the big Victoria Day SpeedFest festivities which will also feature the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, the Canadian Touring Car Championship presented by Continental Tire, Canadian SuperCar Series, the Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin and the Toyo Tires Formula 1600 Super Series.
Urry and his TruSpeed Autosport team will take part in testing on Thursday with official practice and qualifyingon Friday. Saturday will feature Race 1 with Sundayshowcasing Race 2.
Keep up with all of the action by watching the live video stream at www.world-challengetv.com.
The race will be televised Sunday, May 24 at 5:00 PM ET on CBS Sports Network.
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park Schedule:
THURSDAY
10:20 AM – 11:05 AM Testing
2:35 PM – 3:20 PM Testing
FRIDAY
9:35 AM – 10:20 AM Practice
3:05 PM – 3:50 PM Qualifying
SATURDAY
1:15 PM – 2:30 PM Race 1
SUNDAY
11:00 AM – 11:45 AM Autograph Session
3:00 PM – 4:00 PM Race 2