SEBRING, FL (March 20, 2018) – Wright Motorsports kicked off the 2018 IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge in impressive fashion, as all four entries of Max Root, Anthony Imperato, Charlie Luck, and Fred Poordad saw the podium at Sebring International Raceway.
It was a weekend of emotions for Luck, who entered Sebring International Raceway with a new car, in a new class. After facing challenges in the opening round, the Virginia native drove his No. 45 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car to a hard fought and long awaited victory in the Platinum Cup Masters class. This marked Luck’s second podium and maiden victory in IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge USA competition.
“First off, this is my first,” Luck said. “I’ve never won. I started last year, this is my second podium, first win in Masters. It’s been so much work. I’ve been out of the seat for 30 years, and to get back in racing shape and to compete with these guys takes a helluva lot of work. Awesome work from our team, Wright Motorsports, and I just can’t thank my wife enough and the whole team. It’s just so competitive. There’s no room for mistakes.”
Hurley Haywood Scholarship recipient, Root entered IMSA competition by storm after finding himself in a door-to-door battle with Remo Ruscitti during Race 1. The Californian made his way around to fourth position, though it wasn’t until the final lap when an incident ahead allowed him to advance to his first IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge podium in third place. Despite an incident at the start of Race 2, Root still managed to see both flags and brought the No. 7 Porsche home in fifth place, which has him leaving Sebring fourth in the championship points.
Imperato leaves Sebring with high momentum as he’s sitting comfortably as third in the championship standings. The New Yorker found himself amidst a tight battle in Race 1, to which he ultimately ended up taking a clean fifth in class. Race 2 saw him starting from the sixth place slot, where he put on a great fight to take his No. 91 Henry Rifles Porsche to his first podium of the season in third place.
It didn’t take long for Poordad to jump right back into the thick of the competition in his return to the series. The Texas native kicked off the season with a hard-fought third place finish in Platinum Masters. That lit a spark of momentum in Poordad as he went on to jump nine positions overall from his eighteenth place starting slot. This allowed him to finish out the Wright Motorsports front row in Platinum Masters with a second place finish, just behind Luck.
The momentum is high for the Wright Motorsports team as they prepare to retake the stage at at Barber Motorsports Park for the next two rounds of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama season on April 21-22. The races will run as part of the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama weekend.