Ladera Ranch Driver Competing in Grand Prix Event

By Tim Tuttle

Rob Morgan drove sports cars in endurance races early in his career and switched to NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series for several seasons. With his change to the Pirelli World Challenge, Morgan has found a series that is a perfect fit for him and his business.

Morgan, of Ladera Ranch, will drive a Porsche 911 GT3 Sunday in the concluding event of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The one-hour race is scheduled to begin at 4:15 p.m. Qualifying begins at 8:25 a.m. Sunday.

“What interested me originally was the sprint race format and the cost,” Morgan explained. “My business is Porsche-related.”

Morgan, who grew up in Little Rock, Ark., and moved to California in 2000, owns TruSpeed Motorcars in Costa Mesa, a company that specializes in selling and servicing pre-owned Porsches, primarily the cars built before 1998 with air-cooled engines.

But it wasn’t all marketing through racing that brought Morgan to the World Challenge. He’s also a competitor with a strong resume. Morgan, with four co-drivers, won the 1996 Daytona 24-Hour in GTS-1, and other sports car victories. He also drove in 61 NASCAR Truck races from 1997 to 2001, including full seasons in 1999 and 2000.

Morgan enjoyed sports cars, but it's long-distance nature requires co-drivers in virtually every event. When Morgan drove Trucks, he found out he liked being in control of his destiny as the sole driver. The shorter races in World Challenge also allowed Morgan, 37, to spend more time with his family and business, which has 15 employees and has grown into a 28,000-square foot facility.

Morgan joined the series in 2009, driving in five races, and ran the entire 12-race season in 2010. Long Beach is the third of 12 races in 2011. Morgan was sixth in the combined practice results from Friday and Saturday, averaging 84.644 mph on the 1.968-mile course that twists through the Long Beach shoreline. Teammate Patrick Long, of Belleair, Fla., was second in practice at 85.717.

“Practice has been good for us,” Morgan said. “We’ll know more [Sunday]. Patrick [Long] has a lot left.”

Long is the only American driver employed by Porsche directly. He’s also racing in the American Le Mans Series GT class on Saturday. He’s won the Le Mans 24-Hour, the world’s biggest sports car race, and also has multiple wins in the United States, including Daytona and Sebring.

Long won the opening two races of the World Challenge season on a street circuit at St. Petersburg, Fla., on March 26-27. Morgan was sixth and 10th.

Morgan, also the owner of  TruSpeed Motorsports, hired Long earlier this year to be his teammate.

“He’s brought a lot to the team,” Morgan said. “He gives good feedback and I don’t think anybody knows more about a 911 than he does.”

Morgan finished eighth at Long Beach last year. It’s one of the team’s biggest races of the year.

“It’s so close to our shop and we’ll have a lot of friends and family coming,” Morgan said. “It’s not the end of the world type to go out and win, but it would be really nice to win.

“I’m still learning how to drive the Porsche a little bit and learning how to use the ABS. It takes some getting used to, to pick your spot [to brake] and just jam the brakes on. It’s too much of a driver aid and I’d like to lobby to get rid of it.”