PT Autosport heads to Road America as the team preps for the second annual Aspiring Driver Shootout
2022 Aspiring Driver Shootout winner captures first podium at New Jersey Motorsports Park
MILLVILLE, NJ (____ 2023) – PT Autosport has a very busy stretch through the months of July and August planned, beginning with a pair of Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America races as part of the NASCAR Xfinity weekend at Road America and ending with the team’s second annual Aspiring Driver Shootout.
And if that wasn’t enough, the team’s inaugural Shootout winner, 22-year-old London-born Tampa, Fla. resident Henry Drury will compete in his third race weekend of the season (a Porsche Club of America event at New Jersey Motorsports Park) in early August, having earned his first podium at an SCCA Majors event one week ago.
“As we head into late July and August, we’re pretty busy,” said PT Autosport team principal Jason Myers. “We headed straight from Henry’s SCCA Majors weekend right into a Carrera Cup test for Alex, followed by the race at Road America next weekend and then the final stage of the Aspiring Driver Shootout literally two days later – it’s a lot! But we love it.”
Road America doubleheader for Sedgwick
“Very fast. Sometimes scary.”
That was the very first impression of Road America for PT Autosport with JDX Racing’s Alex Sedgwick, who tested with the team at the 14-turn, 4.048-mile road course nestled in the scenic Kettle Moraine region of Wisconsin. Sedgwick, currently fifth in points, is looking for his first Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America win behind the wheel of the No. 98 PT Autosport Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car – and the 24-year-old Warwickshire, UK native figures that the racetrack most resembling the European circuits he grew up on would be the perfect spot.
“It was a good test for us, the race pace looks very good,” said Sedgwick. “If I can improve my qualifying positions, not giving myself so much work to do, we’ll have a strong weekend. We’ve improved steadily all season and I think we’re in a good position. And I really enjoy Road America, it’s a big and complex racetrack. But the whole area is really nice, very peaceful, very chill. It seems like a good place to live, a bit off the radar.”
Sedgwick has impressed at every outing as he learns a new continent’s worth of top-grade circuits, and will hope that the recent repaving of the racing surface means that his lack of experience at Road America is not the disadvantage it might ordinarily have been.
“The test was the same as every other first session this year – just learning the track as it is,” said Sedgwick. “I feel as though drivers who have been here really have to adapt. So maybe just learning it from scratch is a good thing! The general consensus among drivers who have been there before is that everything is faster and has more grip except The Kink – which is, of course, the one place you’d like to have more grip.”
Plans in place for the second annual Aspiring Driver Shootout
August 1 – 3 will see the 2023 PT Autosport Aspiring Driver Shootout at New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJMP). The 12 finalists are set, the coaches are set, the program is set. All that remains is deciding who joins Drury in the team’s junior racing program.
“Event operations are good to go,” said Sedgwick, who is also the driver development director. “I’m impressed with the caliber of candidates we have. We’ve proved that the concept works, in how we assess people, but we’ve also changed a few things up. It’s going to be a difficult process but we’re confident that the right candidate will prevail.”
“We’re really excited about this year’s pool of candidates – and the four veterans from last year’s competition,” said Myers. “We’ve added some key people, tweaked some things here and there, but the overall mission remains the same: putting these 12 aspiring drivers through some trials and tribulations and seeing who comes out on top. We always make sure to remind them: this isn’t about who is fastest around the track – this is about who presents the most competitive, competent, complete package for us to help start and hopefully propel their racing career to heights otherwise unachievable. Everyone is set to arrive on August 1st – and by the end of the day on August 3rd we will have our second Aspiring Driver Shootout Winner!”
2022 Shootout winner captures first podium at NJMP
Drury had all but given up on his childhood dream of becoming a race car driver before he won the Shootout. Now, he has the chance to make those dreams a reality. He competed in his second race weekend at NJMP last week, scoring his first podium in the Fay Teal Memorial Jersey Devil Majors event, driving the team’s Porsche Spec Boxster race-car.
“It still doesn’t seem real,” said Drury. “Winning the Shootout, scoring my first podium, I’m still waiting for it to kick in! The shootout has been such a huge opportunity for me, my 10-year-old self couldn’t even imagine being in this position and being able to chase this dream.”
Just like last month at Watkins Glen, Drury’s race weekend was more wet than dry, as the schedule was upended by threats of weather, including lightning, that shortened the weekend to just one race. “It was good to race at my “home” racetrack, since the team is based here and I’ve tested here before, so we didn’t have so much catching up to do! It was a great weekend as I felt as though I made massive strides in car control and session management, which I’ll carry into my next races.” said Drury.
“In Sunday morning’s race, the track started out really wet, with tons of standing water. I got a good start, started experimenting with wet lines and moving forward, but after two laps the track was completely dry – and I realized it way too late, so our tires were already overheating. In the end, I finished third and experienced a completely new race scenario, so I’m extremely happy with the podium and what I learned over the weekend!”
“The SCCA Majors are always a fun time – so much competition in so many different forms,” said Myers. “SCCA weekends remind me why so many people jump into this sport and do it all their lives – it’s just a great energy and passion and fun thing for so many people. I am really glad Henry got to experience an SCCA Majors event – and score a pair of podiums – very early in his career. He’s been learning these Boxsters and gets faster and faster every time we get in the car. That’s also thanks to our Boxster track support partners and local NJ race shop PMR – Will and Matt and the whole team are great and have been very supportive partners on the race support side for Henry’s program, and for our Aspiring Driver Shootout. Henry has exceeded our expectations, further cementing our decision to choose him as our inaugural winner. I am looking forward to seeing where the rest of Henry’s driving career and partnership with us takes him!”
The Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America series will contest two races at Road America this weekend. Race one takes the green flag Friday at 3:55 p.m. EDT, with race two Saturday at 1:15 p.m. – just ahead of the NASCAR Xfinity main event. The races will be broadcast live in the U.S., on IMSA.tv, the NBC Peacock streaming app and PorscheCarreraCup.us.
PT Autosport would like to thank JDX Racing partners Byers/Porsche Columbus, Renier Construction, PDCA Inc., and Revamp Marketing.
About PT Autosport
PT Autosport is a newly formed racing team currently based at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, NJ. The team campaigns rising star Alex Sedgwick (U.K.) in the Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America series for the 2023 season with JDX Racing and 2022 Aspiring Driver Shootout winner Henry Drury (UK) in select PCA, SCCA, and WRL races during the 2023 season.
PT Autosport is working towards bringing diversity and opportunity to the motorsport industry, hosting their annual Aspiring Driver Shootout, in which aspiring drivers aged 18-23 can compete for a $100,000 racing partnership with the team. Visit PTAutosport.com for more info.
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