The gutsy drive from P16 to P3 in the race one rain earns Drury his second Hard Charger Award of the season to go with that first podium
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (August 21, 2024) – Precision Racing LA w/PT Autosport captured its first Toyota GR Cup podium finish last weekend at Road America, with Henry Drury powering through treacherous weather conditions to gain 13 positions in the first of two races.
The 24-year-old English born, Tampa, Fla. resident was promoted to the No. 44 PT SEGRA-sponsored Toyota GR86 Cup Car for the pair of GR Cup races on Road America’s legendary 4.048-mile road course. Drury put on a show in the pouring rain on Saturday, making solid passes and taking advantage of others’ mistakes to capture his best finish of the season.
Earning a test day on Thursday – with the afternoon session rained out – Drury made the most of what would turn out to be the lone full practice to re-educate himself with the track’s nuances (Road America is the only track in the GR Cup schedule that Drury has raced at before, having contested a Porsche Club of America event last year). Friday’s first official practice saw only one timed lap, due to a lengthy red flag – though Drury made the best of it, posting the 11th quickest time. Mother Nature had other ideas when it then came time for practice two, with hard rain and lightning in the area canceling the session.
With only 15 minutes to qualify, Drury was pleased with his pace but unable to find a slot to set his optimum time. At the end of the session, he had set the 16th quickest time for race one.
“I’m genuinely so proud of that session,” said Drury. “It’s the best I’ve ever driven, the best qualifying session I’ve ever had in terms of pace and consistency. Unfortunately, we just missed a little bit of pace in the dry, which meant that we’d have to fight our way forward.”
A significant rain cell crossed over Road America just before the teams headed to the grid, but the track had begun to dry as the field took the green for the first of two 45-minute races. Starting 16th but up to 12th with 25 minutes remaining, Drury bided his time as the rain began to fall again. Holding his ground and taking advantage of sliding cars ahead, Drury powered into the top 10, taking ninth with 21 minutes left.
With 16 minutes remaining, the full course caution flew in order to slow the field behind the safety car, with hard rain rendering the racing surface – repaved last year – too slick for the drivers to safely navigate. The green flew once again with 10 minutes remaining, as a determined Drury began to make a charge, with assertive moves in the difficult conditions – and with several cars surrounding Drury unable to hold onto the racing surface. Battling hard, Drury took the checkered flag in third position for his first series podium.
“What an incredible race,” said Drury. “The No. 44 SEGRA GR86 just adores the rain. From the opening laps, I just had a ton of confidence to push my way forwards and start making moves. We were happy when it rained but honestly, there was so much standing water, the grip level had changed so much and with the spray, you really couldn’t see anything. It was absolute chaos, trying to guess how much grip you’d have going into Turn 1, as everybody around you is either sideways or backwards or off track. I made some moves and took some opportunities, and I didn’t really know where I was in terms of positioning until I got to the, the white flag. When I realized I was third, I just tried to hit my marks, keep it on the road and try to reel them in a little bit more and see if there might be a 
chance for one last move right at the end. But to get my first series podium and have the whole team there was great.”
The conditions couldn’t have been more different for race two, with sun greeting the field at the drop of the green. Drury found himself bounced around on lap one, hit side-to-side early, then with two wheels pushed into the grass – and putting him back in P13. But with determined passes, Drury powered up to P11 eight minutes into the race.
But 12 minutes into the race, a car into the wall in the Kink brought out a lengthy full course caution. Returning to green, Drury stapled himself to the car ahead, with a car off ahead helping him break into the top 10, then a pass in Turn 10 earning him the ninth position – but with the battle to make the pass having separated Drury from the leaders. Drury would go on to take the checkered flag in eighth position.
“It really was a great weekend,” said Drury. “Hopefully the prize money will cover the cost of the overweight bag fee to get the trophy home! I’m just so proud of the effort from the entire team. The goals coming in were a top eight finish and to be more aggressive in my race craft, and I think it’s safe to say that we hit those marks and made another breakthrough.”
PT Autosport team principal Jason Myers was thrilled with the progress Drury has made, as the winner of the team’s inaugural Aspiring Driver Shootout leads their junior program.
“What a weekend!” said Myers. “Henry really made the most of his opportunities, really in both races. The first race started damp, but quickly turned very wet, and this is when Henry started to shine, and we couldn’t be prouder. The driving skill and race craft he demonstrated proves what we’ve known all along: that he is a very naturally talented and skilled racing driver. We couldn’t be happier with the weekend, and the No. 44 SEGRA PT Autosport GR86 that the Precision Racing LA team gave us.”
Next up for Precision Racing LA with PT Autosport will be the Toyota GR Cup doubleheader at Barber Motorsports Park near Birmingham, Ala., September 6-8. The pair of 45-minute races will be broadcast live at www.grcup.com.
PT Autosport would like to thank partners STEAM Sports Foundation, Classic Car Club Manhattan and New Jersey Motorsports Park.
About PT Autosport — Discover Unique Talent. Develop Champions.
PT Autosport, based at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, NJ, campaigns rising star Alex Sedgwick (UK) in the 2024 Porsche Carrera Cup North America series with JDX Racing, 2022 Aspiring Driver Shootout winner Henry Drury (UK) in the Toyota GR Cup North America series with Precision Racing LA, and 2023 Aspiring Driver Shootout winner Brenna Schubert (USA) in select SPEC-MX5 races for the 2024 season.
PT Autosport is dedicated to providing merit-based motorsport industry opportunities for diverse individuals with high integrity, grit, and coach-ability, achieved through a development program for young aspiring drivers, engineers, mechanics, and other professionals. The first step of this process is applying for the annual Aspiring Driver Shootout, in which aspiring drivers aged 18-23 can compete for a team racing partnership with the team.
A rigorous evaluation process of applicants determines the final competitors for the driver shootout. The winner earns financial support of up to $250,000 ($50,000 guaranteed) to pursue their racing career. The review process also provides the team the chance to identify unique talent for other roles in motorsport, including race engineers, mechanics, and professionals.
PT Autosport is building a community that fosters the development of young talent to find a place where they can make an impact in the motorsport community as a career.
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