BATAVIA, OH (August 15, 2018) –Still fresh off of their breakthrough win at Road America, Wright Motorsports is prepared to take on their next big feat at VIRginia International Raceway. This weekend’s Michelin GT Challenge will see the regular-season No. 58 Porsche 911 GT3 R entry of Patrick Long and Christina Nielsen take on yet another GT-only showdown.
As one of North America's most classic road courses, VIRginia International Raceway never fails to provide a show. It has a mix of high-speed corners, elevation changes and of course the famous Oak Tree Turn- still sans the great Oak that fell in 2013. is also the second of two races in 2018 where the two GT categories (GTLM and GTD) will be the featured classes, as the prototype class will not take part in this week's round, as they didn't at Lime Rock Park.
After landing two consecutive pole positions and fighting their way to their first victory of the year, Wright Motorsports is determined to close out the final three rounds in winning-form.
Both Long and Nielsen have seen their share of success at the 3.27-mile, 17-turn track. Long has one victory and a handful of podiums to his name— one of which was in a Wright Motorsports prepared Porsche 911 GT3 R. In her four years of racing at the classic course, Nielsen has earned one podium in 2015 and missed it by just one position in 2017. Together, they look to continue their pattern of success at this weekend's event.
The Michelin GT Challenge will be broadcasted on Sunday, August 19, live on FS1 at 1:00pm EDT, before moving to FS2 from 2:00pm. to 5:00pm EDT. It also will be carried live by IMSA Radio on IMSA.com, RadioLeMans.comand SiriusXM Radio.
Driver Comments:
Patrick Long | Driver, No. 58 Porsche Consulting/Porsche Digital Porsche 911 GT3 R –"Traditionally, Virginia has a lot of sports car fans. I hope we can offer them an exciting race. The Virginia International Raceway is technically very demanding and it requires a perfect setup. Strategy also plays an important role here because compared to other racetracks there are usually less safety car phases due to the many run-off areas. Our first win of the season gave the entire team a real boost. We now want to make the most of this excitement to bring home another top result."
Christina Nielsen | Driver, No. 58 Porsche Consulting/Porsche Digital Porsche 911 GT3 R –“This is probably one of the most challenging tracks we race at all year. To do well, you have to be precise, focused and be consistent on hitting your marks — that’s the key to doing well in this race. There are places to overtake, but not that many. It’s normally very, very close racing, and if you get off track, which normally you do if you pass and have to go off of the racing line a bit, the grip level really goes down. That’s why it’s a difficult track to overtake on. But, I look forward to going there. It’s a beautiful, very green area. You’re really out in the woods and suddenly, you’re at this amazing racetrack!”
About Wright Motorsports
Wright Motorsports is the premier Porsche race engineering facility in Ohio and a multi-series, international racing team known for superb car preparation, expert race strategy and driver development. Located in Batavia, Ohio near Cincinnati, it is owned and directed by John Wright, a certified Porsche factory-trained technician. As a crew chief John Wright has played a key role in winning eight driver and seven team championships in World Challenge, IMSA (ALMS) and the Grand-Am Rolex Series. Wright Motorsports won the team championship in Porsche GT3 Cup USA in 2012, 2013 and 2015. After a most successful 2017 season, the team holds the Pirelli World Challenge Overall, Sprint, Team and Manufacturer's titles. For more information see wrightmotorsports.com and follow the team on Twitter and Facebook.
About Porsche Consulting
The Porsche Consulting management consultancy was founded in 1994 in response to the successful restructuring of the Porsche sports car maker. Porsche had gained so much experience and knowledge from mastering a major crisis that it decided to make this expertise available to other companies. Four of its employees formed Porsche Consulting’s initial team. Their small office in Zuffenhausen became a worldwide consultancy—with sites in Stuttgart, Hamburg, Munich, Milan, São Paulo, Atlanta, and Shanghai. Now with 430 employees, many of whom are engineers and economists, Porsche Consulting continues to apply proven solutions from the automotive industry to other sectors. It helps its clients put strategies into practice. Along with its original emphasis on lean transformation, it focuses increasingly on digitalization.
About Porsche Digital
Porsche Digital is the Porsche AG competence center for digitalization. The company defines and implements new value creation strategies and innovative digital product ranges in close cooperation with all Porsche AG departments. Porsche Digital identifies and evaluates trends and invests in start-ups, thus securing access to relevant technologies. It sees itself as an interface between Porsche and innovators all over the world. The company has sites in Ludwigsburg, Berlin, and Santa Clara and further locations such as Asia are planned.