Costa Mesa, CA – March 23, 2011 – TruSpeed Motorsports, based in Costa Mesa, Calif., today announced the signing of Patrick Long to race the #45 PrivacyStar Porsche GT3 Cup Car for the 2011 Pirelli World Challenge Series. After much speculation, Long will first race for TruSpeed starting with the season opener of the WC Series this weekend, March 25-27 on the streets of St. Petersburg, FL. Rob Morgan, 1996 Rolex 24 At Daytona GTS-1 class winner, runs TruSpeed Motorsports, and will drive the #46 Entrust/TruSpeed Porsche GT3 Cup for the season.
Patrick said, “I’m excited at the chance to do some sprint racing, in a tough series and with a very strong team. TruSpeed has a great team structure with some awesome people that I have worked with in the past. That was the initial draw for me to this idea, then getting to know Rob and just how passionate he is about his racing made it a no-brainer to sign up with these guys. I like that World Challenge is unique – standing starts, sprint formats, double-header weekends. I will be jumping in Thursday cold turkey, but I love St. Pete’s street circuit and it helps that it’s just down the road from where I’ve been living for the past four years.”
Long will race in all the events except for Miller, which conflicts with his race schedule. Kelly Collins will take Long’s place at the Utah round of the series.
Team owner Rob Morgan was elated to announce the hiring of Long. “I’m thrilled to be teaming up with Patrick this season, particularly as a driver. Having him around to help us continue to develop as a team will be fantastic, and I know he’ll push me as a driver. Having someone with his record of success and skill involved will help us grow, both on and off track. I can’t wait to get to work at St. Pete this weekend, and to start building on the successes we’ve had in the past.”
The Pirelli World Challenge Series kicks off this weekend with twin races on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, Saturday and Sunday, March 26-27. For live timing and scoring, visit: http://www.world-challenge.com/event/index.php?ID=126
The Pirelli World Challenge Series GT class features Porsches, Corvettes, Mustangs, Volvos, Vipers, Aston Martins, Nissan GT-Rs – and this year, Cadillacs – and will race 12 times over eight events. Venues are: St. Petersburg, Long Beach, Miller Motosports Park, Mosport, Mid-Ohio, Infineon Raceway and Laguna Seca.
Source: TruSpeed Motorsports
Photos: TruSpeed Motorsports / Porsche
