Pirelli World Challenge Round 10 GTS class podium at Honda Indy Toronto July 20th, 2014

Qualifying July 18th - After a slow start in the Practice 1 session at 8th fastest we got up to pace in the Practice 2 session with the 2nd fastest car in the GTS class. We didn't get the result we wanted in Qualifying, we know we are capable of doing better tomorrow on raceday.

Saturday Round 9 July 19th - Fifth Place finish for Alec Udell in Race 9 of the Pirelli World Challenge from Toronto!

Normally, a broken sensor during a race would greatly hinder a team and driver. Fortunately for driver Alec Udell, this happened on the warm up lap of the race and he was able to pit. The quick work of the crew had him back out, just after the start and was able to join the race at the back of the field. Almost immediately there was an incident in turn one, involving several cars that resulted in a full course yellow lasting 15 minutes.

On the the restart, Alec began to slowly work his way up through the pack, 14 cars in all, ending up in P5. He also managed to post the second fastest lap and will start in P2 Sunday morning at 9:15 am

Sunday Round 10 July 20th - Winners Circle!  Stepped up on the podium yesterday, to accept my second place trophy after 45 minutes of racing I finished just 0.039 seconds behind Mark Willkins. I had an excellent car, and have to thank Motorsports Development Group for preparing my MDG/ Watson Racing, Boss 302s Mustang. It allowed me to not only keep up, but aggressively threaten the pole sitter for the entire race with and average lap times faster then the leader.

Traffic and smart driving by the leader kept me from being able to take the lead. Congrats to Mark Wilkins on his win. Looking forward to Mid-Ohio in a few weeks, hope to see you there.

Thanks to Motorsports Development Group for giving me a great car to drive. My Watson Racing Boss 302 Mustang allowed me stay right with the leader.  Congrats to Mark and KIA on a well fought race! Couldn't be happier with how the day went today. Great racing with Mark Wilkins and Jack Roush Jr. A hard fought race for 2nd place! Great car and great team!

Read the Pirelli World Challenge Round 9 & 10 Race Report

The race will be broadcast  on NBC Sports Network. Sunday, August 10 at 1:30 p.m. (re-air Saturday, Aug. 16 at 12 a.m.)

Also on www.world-challengeTV.com after initial broadcast.

View live streaming on www.world-challengeTV.com day of races and continuously on demand after races
Visit the Pirelli World Challenge website for full results and more information.

Be sure to tune in to watch the Pirelli World Challenge Championships action from Road America starting at 6:30 p.m. Eastern on NBC Sports Network this coming Friday, July 4th. The broadcast will feature Rounds 7 and 8 of the 2014 season for the GT/GT-A and GTS classes as well as the TC, TCA and TCB classes.

Watch Alec Udell move past 17 cars in race 2 and take the award for the "Hard Charger" of the race.

Alec Udell Earns Hard Charger Award

"It was a trying weekend for my first time to Road America. We had a few issues with the car in race 1, but were able get it fixed for race 2. Car was really handling well and I was able to move through the pack from 18 to 5. If there had only been a few more laps….

Thanks to all the fans for coming out, and a huge thanks to Eurotech Industries for your sponsorship this weekend. — at Pirelli World Challenge Rounds 7 & 8 - Road America."

Driver Alec Udell earned the "Hard Charger" award for his incredible gain of 17 places during round 8 of the Pirelli World Challenge Championships at Road America. Udell started 18th on the grid and moved up 4 positions in lap 1. He then moved steadily through traffic until a yellow flag in lap 4 brought the cars together. When racing resumed, he again went on the attack and ended up 5th place.

Chris Mealey CEO of Eurotechx Industries was glued to his TV watching the broadcast of the Pirelli World Challenge race from Detroit. He was cheering on Alec Udell and his friend and Team Owner Stuart Robinson. It was the closing laps and Alec’s MDG/ Watson Racing/Ford Racing Mustang was running second and closing on the leader. Then, misfortune struck, an “on track incident” and Alec was into the wall, dropping five places.

Being a fan and friend, Chris knew of the hardships the the team has been incurring this season and felt he needed to do something to show his support. A quick call to Stuart and it was set, Eurotech Industries would be a team sponsor for the upcoming race at Road America.

“We have the best fans and friends” said Stuart Robinson “ I’ve known Chris for years, he’s a car enthusiast with a passion for motorsports. Seeing Alec drive his heart out in Detroit, and then having all that hard work diminished in a blink, really upset him. He called me up to ask if he or his shop Eurotech Industries could help in any way. One thing lead to another and he’s now sponsoring Alec and the #17 MDG/Watson Racing/Ford Racing Mustang for Road America”.

About Eurotech:

Eurotechx Industries is a 40,000 square foot manufacturing facility located in Houston. They have CNC mill and lathes 4 CMM to produce custom machined parts and pieces to your exact specifications. They have worked with other Pirelli World Challenge teams in the past to provide customized quality machined parts.

Eurotech 11701 Brittmore Park Drive, Houston, TX. 77041
Ph# 1-713-937-1730

Eurotechx on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Eurotechx/543500565670205?fref=ts

If you’ve been around the racetrack and aren’t familiar with Alec Udell, we think that will change soon. In his short career, the eighteen-year-old has racked up an impressive racing resume that includes several professional racing podium appearances, a pole position, and the 2013 NASA American Iron National Championship.

Udell drives the Watson Racing Mustang BOSS 302R in the Pirelli World Challenge GTS class for Texas-based Motorsports Development Group. Born in the Charleston, Illinois, Udell now lives in Spring, Texas. We caught up with the young hot shoe during the Pirelli World Challenge’s fifth round, the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix, to meet one of sports car racing’s rising stars.

 MM&FF: It’s great that you took time out of your busy schedule to talk with us. How did you get started in racing?

Udell: My father and grandfather were involved in amateur sports car racing, and when I was five years old, they got me a kart. We’d practice in parking lots and did some racing. Over the next few years I moved up to bigger and faster karts and won the 2008 Rotax Minimax National Points Championship.

MM&FF: Looks like early on, your family recognized you had some talent. The common step from karts is to entry-level open-wheel racing, but instead, you went sports car racing. Why?

Udell: As a teenager with eleven years of kart racing experience, my family concluded that there weren’t many opportunities to race open-wheel cars. So we bought a Spec Miata and went club racing, where I honed my talents driving a [full-size] car. We wanted try professional sports car racing with Grand-Am, but I needed to wait until I was sixteen to race. So, we put a deal together to race a Camaro with Momentum Autosports in World Challenge for eight races in 2011.

MM&FF: So your first season in professional racing was behind the wheel of a Camaro. You were the youngest driver to ever compete in Pirelli World Challenge, and you got pole position at Mid-Ohio. Now you race a Mustang. Why?

Udell: Because it was the first year of the Camaro in World Challenge, we struggled with the car a bit. We had some brake issues on the Camaro during the season finale at Road Atlanta, where I tried Capaldi Racing’s Mustang. During the 2011 season, the Mustang was the car to have for the GTS class. That, and based upon my impressions driving the car, I switched to a Mustang BOSS 302R team for 2012. We paired up with Watson Racing Halfway through the 2013 season and have had a real great chemistry between our families since. It has been a great mutual partnership between myself, Motorsports Development Group (MDG) and Watson Racing. Watson's, being the builders of all the Mustang Boss 302S' and 302R's know the cars inside and out, and have all the resources to build a great car. Stuart Robinson and Ed Gilfus have teamed up through MDG to provide amazing trackside support and engineering on setups for our Mustang to keep us in the top five at each event.

MM&FF: World Challenge GTS has a diverse field of cars, including the Mustang BOSS 302, Kia Optima, Chevy Camaro, Porsche Cayman, Nissan 370Z, and Aston Martin Vantage. How does the Mustang BOSS 302R compare to the competition?

Udell: It depends upon the track. The Mustang BOSS 302R is a very “point and shoot” car. It has a high top speed. With a 7800-8000 RPM redline, it makes a lot of horsepower over a wide RPM range. With such a flexible power band, I don’t have to shift gears as many times each lap as the other cars. With our Cortex Racing “Watt’s link” suspension, my Mustang can catch some of the slower cars trough high-speed corners. But, the Mustang BOSS 302R suffers in tight turns and under braking.

MM&FF: The front-wheel drive Kia Optimas are surprisingly fast in the GTS class.

Udell: Yes, the front-wheel-drive cars can lay down a fast lap, but over the course of the race, they have trouble keeping the front tires under them. On a front-wheel-drive car, the front tires do everything: turning, accelerating, and most of the braking. Over the course of a race, the Kia Optimas wear out their front tires, and start to fall back.

MM&FF: Back to you and your career. What are your future racing plans?

Udell: My professional racing goal is to finish in the top three in the 2014 Pirelli World Championship standings. Last year, I finished two points out of 5th place, so I know I can do it. Then, maybe move to professional endurance racing [IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship], and maybe some oval track racing. In racing, I think it’s important to specialize, but I also want to broaden my racing experience.

MM&FF: When you’re not racing, what else keeps you busy?

Udell: I’ve always had an interest in cars, and I work on them in my free time. I’ve enrolled in Clemson University’s engineering program starting this fall, where I’ll concentrate on mechanical engineering. I plan to use my engineering degree to focus on motorsports. I want to use my engineering degree to further my understanding of driving a car…use my driving talent to learn WHAT a car does, and use my engineering background to learn WHY the car behaves that way, and HOW to set it up and make it better. Even if I can’t drive a car, I think engineers need to know what it feels like.

I’m also interested in the business side of motorsports, but I figure it’s better to study engineering now, and get an MBA [Master’s of Business Administration] later rather than the other way around.

MM&FF: Sounds like you’re trying to get all your bases covered so you can maintain a career in motorsports in some form or another.

Udell: Exactly. I want to make a living in racing. Even professional sports car drivers can work into their 50’s or 60’s, which is longer than professional athletes in football or basketball. If you do something you love, it isn’t work. I want to make motorsports not only my work, but my life.

Read more: http://www.mustangandfords.com/features/1406-meet-alec-udell/#ixzz35tsZ4k00