Costa Mesa, Calif. (28 July 2015) – The Pirelli World Challenge stages Rounds 12 & 13 of the 2015 GT Cup presented by MOMO Championship this weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Sloan Urry and the No. 02 SecurityNational Porsche enter the event third in the championship standings.
Looking to close the gap to teammate and championship leader Colin Thompson, Urry is eager for the double-header Mid-Ohio event. The track is another historic one on the Pirelli World Challenge schedule. The event features a big weekend of racing with IndyCar, Indy Lights, Pro Mazda, and F2000 also in action for a total of 11 races run during the weekend.
At 2.258-miles in length with 13 turns, the natural terrain road course offers elevation changes, high-speed and flowing corners, as well as tight corners which make the driver and fan-favorite track a challenging one.
And with 38 entries slated for the combined class GT-GTA-GT Cup event, it will be especially busy for Urry and his GT Cup competitors.
It's been a month since Urry was last in Pirelli World Challenge action at Road America in which he claimed his seventh podium result of the year. A late race battle in Race 2 ultimately saw the No. 02 SecurityNational Porsche miss out on a second place finish, and has Urry all the more hungry to return to competition this weekend.
“I have limited experience at Mid-Ohio but when I did race there, I really enjoyed it,” said Urry, who has competed at Mid-Ohio in Mustang Challenge competition. “It was at the beginning of my career when I drove Ford Mustangs and Mid-Ohio was my second professional race I had ever been in. The track presents a lot of challenges with the elevation changes and varying types of corners. When I raced there, I had to start from the back of the pack due to a post-qualifying DQ so I had a chance to really get a feel for how the track was in traffic (improved eight positions in the race). There are a handful of places to pass that make the track conducive to some really great racing. I'm excited to go back there with my SecurityNational Porsche and get reacquainted with the track and be ready to push to the front!”
The Pirelli World Challenge weekend gets underway with testing on Thursday followed by a late practice session Friday evening. Saturday features qualifying in the morning and Race 1 at 4:30 PM ET. Race 2 is set for Sunday at 11:50 AM ET.
Fans can view live coverage of each race at www.world-challengetv.com. The Mid-Ohio event will be televised on CBS Sports Network on Sunday, August 9 at 4:00 PM ET.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE:
Friday, July 31
6:55 PM – 7:25 PM Practice
Saturday, August 1
8:50 AM – 9:35 AM Qualifying
2:15 PM – 3:00 PM PWC Autograph Session (Fan Village)
4:30 PM – 5:45 PM Race 1
Sunday, August 2
11:50 AM – 12:55 PM Race 2
Elkhart Lake, Wis. (28 June 2015) – TruSpeed Autosport driver Sloan Urry scored his seventh podium of the 2015 Pirelli World Challenge season on Saturday at Road America when he drove to a second place finish in Race 1. Urry remained in podium contention throughout the entire 50-minute race to give SecurityNational its sixth runner-up result of the year.
Urry started Saturday's sprint race from second on the grid, but ceded one spot on an early restart to run in third after several cars got together ahead of him.
“The first part of the race was good,” said Urry. “I made a few mistakes trying to close the gap. My fault on that. On the restart, there was a bunch of contact happening, coming up the hill. I saw a bunch of smoke and people hitting the brakes and checking up. So honestly, I expected a wreck when I came over the top of the hill. I had a little bit of a St. Petersburg flashback (when contact took out several GT Cup competitors and significantly damaged his No. 02 Porsche) and decided to take the easy road, in terms of coming out of the throttle and seeing what was going on when I came over the hill. I wanted to take the safe route there, rather than risking another big hit to the SecurityNational car. Unfortunately, some of my other competitors went with the risky route and it paid off for them.”
Urry then fought to get the position back through the remainder of the race and ultimately made a pass stick on the final lap to take the second place spot.
“I had a little bit of a difficult time getting the position back because there were two cars pretty much blocking the track in front of me,” added Urry. “But I got it done on the last lap outside of Turn 1 which got me back up to second. I had no opportunity to go for the lead after that restart. But I was happy to fight back to second and get some good championship points.”
Race 2 on Sunday saw Urry once again start from the outside of the front row. The race immediately went yellow after three GT class machines stalled on the grid, preventing the GT Cup field from getting an initial green. Once the race got back underway there was just 37 minutes to run and Urry ran a brief stint in the race lead before settling into second throughout the first segment.
Upon the race's final restart, Urry slipped to third as the trio of second, third, and fourth place cars ran nose-to-tail in line. As the clock ran down and Urry received the white flag, he knew he had to make his move on the second place car of Udell who wasn't about to make it easy on him. Urry made a move in the final corner but got caught up in the marbles which sent the car off into the gravel trap.
It was a disappointing end in what had been a thrilling GT Cup race.
“I was really confident with my pace,” said Urry. “Alec (Udell) was right behind Colin (Thompson, race leader) and I just kind of followed him through. For the rest of the race, he was pretty much taking the inside line every time I showed for it which made it really difficult for me to get around him. I believe I had the pace to challenge Colin for the lead but unfortunately I couldn't get around Alec to get to him. I went for it in the last corner of the last lap. I was all over him but I got out in the marbles and unfortunately did not finish the race. I'm really disappointed for TruSpeed and SecurityNational and the guys that put all the effort into the race weekend. It's one of those ‘coulda, shoulda, woulda won the race' times but sometimes this stuff happens.”
Urry and the No. 02 SecurityNational Porsche will be back in action at the end of July at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
The Road America events will be televised on CBS Sports Network on Sunday, July 5 at 2:00 PM ET.
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.