The 2018 Pirelli World Challenge season has been filled with attrition for GT team CRP Racing. Despite the setbacks, the Mercedes AMG GT3 team is looking to finish on a high note at this weekend’s season finale at Watkins Glen International, currently sitting fifth in the point standings. Three time Pirelli World Challenge (PWC) champion Michael Cooper will return to reprise his role as driver of the No. 2 Mercedes AMG GT3.
Entering the double header weekend in fifth place in the team standings, CRP Racing has a chance to fight for any of the top five positions in the GT championship. Twenty-eight points separate CRP Racing from the points leaders, and a maximum of 25 points will be awarded for each win.
“A lot would have to go our way and against our competition for us to win the championship,” said Short. “Mathematically, we’re still in the fight, but we’re still realistic about the points battle. Our focus this weekend is to get up to speed quickly and finish the season on a high note. Michael did a great job for us at Utah Motorsports Campus, and we’re looking forward to having him back in the car for the finale.”
Cooper, a resident of Huntington, New York, first raced the No. 2 Mercedes AMG GT3 in the previous rounds at Utah Motorsport Campus. Race one resulted in an early retirement as a result of a mechanical issue, and in race two Cooper and co-driver Matthew Brabham finished eighth. After sharing the driving duties with Brabham at the final rounds of the SprintX championship, Cooper alone will command the Mercedes AMG this weekend, closing out the 2018 Sprint championship.
“I’m excited for a straight up 50 minute race to the checkered flag,” said Cooper. “When I came to the Pirelli World Challenge in 2012, it was for the flat out aspect of the racing. So I can’t wait for this weekend at Watkins Glen to get back into the DeVilbiss Mercedes for these sprint races.”
Although a New York native, Cooper will be new to Watkins Glen International, having raced predominately in the Pirelli World Challenge, a series only recently returning to the 3.4, 11-turn road course in Watkins Glen, New York.
“With this being the series’ first trip back to the Glen in some years, it will also be my first time racing at the historic track.” Said Cooper. “I’m looking forward to the challenge of familiarizing myself with the track. We’ll be starting practice with a leg up on most of our competitors because we saved a set of new tires in Utah by not running them in my stint.”
Rounds eight and nine of the Pirelli World Challenge Sprint championship will stream live on the Pirelli World Challenge YouTube Channel and series website. Race one will begin on Saturday, September 1 at 1:50PM Eastern, and race two will go green on Sunday, September 2 at 1:15PM.
Source. KBru Communications
Comments
