Henry Drury just misses out on first win by one-tenth of a second
Plymouth, WI (5 September 2023)
On a roll from their last race weekend with PCA at New Jersey Motorsports Park, the PT Autosport team arrived at Road America ready to go out on a high note for 2023.
“As the season comes to an end for me, I have to stop for a second and just think about how incredible this year has been.” said Drury. “Just over a year ago I would never have believed I could be racing this year, let alone racing at one of the most famous tracks in America! Sometimes I get a little too focused on competing and I have to step back to think about what 10 year old me would say if he could see me now. He’d be absolutely ecstatic!”
“I really can’t thank PT Autosport enough for this year, for the trust they’ve shown me, for the happily-given advice, coaching, mentorship, and of course for the opportunities they’ve given me. I’m extremely grateful for what they’ve done for me, and I’m hoping this is just the start of repaying their generosity in trophies!”
The Road America weekend kicked off with two days of testing with David Murray Track Days, giving Henry and the PMR team time to learn the famously tricky, high-speed racetrack set among Wisconsin’s lakes and rolling hills.
“This track is insane!” said Henry after his first session. “The Kink is the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced, but this place is just awe-inspiring. Since the repaving work a few months ago the track has had some interesting quirks, and it’s very sketchy off the racing line. But all I can say is Wow, what a track!”
After two days of testing, the team were feeling optimistic ahead of the race weekend as they headed into practice. From the outset, the team could immediately see they were lacking straight-line speed compared to the leading cars.
Continuing the team’s positive progression from testing, Henry found more and more time as the day went on. Late in the afternoon, qualifying rolled around, bringing a whole new challenge that Henry was yet to face in his racing career.
“With a track like Road America and a low-power car like the Boxster, we spend so much time at full throttle that it all comes down to straight line speed, or more specifically, getting a tow! I’ve never really experienced this yet, and it was only halfway through qualifying that I really started trying to find a slightly faster car and set myself up to get a tow from them. I struggled for most of the session with how much of a gap I needed and how best to utilise the slipstream, but I finally got it right on the very last lap and managed to put the car P4. Hopefully we can work our way forwards in the race!”
Race 1 was a battle from the start, with Henry losing a spot at Turn 1. Fighting back at Turn 4, he spent almost five corners side by side with the #236, before eventually winning out at the infamous carousel, as the slippy off-line tarmac from the track repaving worked to his advantage. Settling into a slipstream battle with the cars around him, he eventually finished in P3, just holding off Jeff Wilson after an epic battle to the chequered flag.
Race 2 began with a similar story, but this time Henry was eager not to let the cars behind drag him into a pack-race. Sticking himself to the bumper of the two leaders, the three cars slowly built a gap ahead of the others, and settled into a pattern. Henry was content to sit behind in third for the moment, letting the two leaders slow each other down as they fought tooth and nail each lap. Finally, Henry saw his opportunity. Entering Turn 11 after the infamous kink, the leaders went side by side once again, and just slightly misjudged their entry speed, making contact at the apex. Cutting back under and barely squeezing between the two cars, Henry grabbed the lead and took off as fast as he could.
Three laps later, the pole sitting car of Jeff Wilson was back on his tail, and exiting the final turn he pulled into Henry’s slipstream. PCA’s strict rules mean you can only make one defensive move, and it has to be made immediately after leaving the final corner. Knowing this, Henry tried to break the slipstream by cutting down to the inside wall as they climbed up the hill, but the #812 slowly reeled him in and pulled alongside. At the line, they were separated by just one tenth of a second, with the #812 in front. Try as he might, Henry couldn’t compete with the straight-line speed of the #812, and was well behind by the time they arrived at Turn 1. Moments later, the yellow flags came out, and the race ended under yellow just a few minutes later.
“I’m still not sure how to feel about the race if I’m honest, I’m proud that we were able to fight so closely for the win, as it shows how far I’ve come since my first race just a few months ago, but it’s heartbreaking to lose it the way we did. I’m here to win, and I’ll admit I’m not a very good loser! It’s frustrating, especially to lose it on pure straight line speed, but we’re closer than ever, and this won’t be the last time I get to fight for a win. I’ll analyse everything I can from this weekend, and I’ll be back even stronger next season. This is just the start!
I have to say thank you again to the entire PT Autosport team, they’ve brought me so far since winning the shootout, and the progression from my first race weekend in June to missing a win by one tenth in September speaks to the quality of coaching and the team as a whole. I’m incredibly proud to represent them and can’t thank them enough! Likewise for the PMR crew, they’ve been flawless all weekend and handled all issues and changes smoothly. They’ve had to put up with my limited knowledge and experience since June, and they’ve been nothing but helpful in building my knowledge of setup changes and how to adapt my driving to suit the car and the changes they make. They’re an awesome team and I hope we’re back here next season!”
Henry and the PT Autosport team will be back in action in 2024, and thank everyone for following along with their journey!
Henry would like to thank PT Autosport, Precision Motorsports Racing (PMR), and Wine Country Motorsports for their continued support.
