Dominant 1–2 Finish for Wright Motorsports in GT World Challenge America at COTA

Wright Motorsports delivered a commanding performance at Circuit of The Americas this weekend, securing an exceptional 1-2 finish in GT World Challenge America competition during the feature race on Sunday afternoon.

After scoring a podium on debut in the previous round at Sonoma Raceway, the pairing of Dave Musial Jr. and Ryan Yardley upgraded their hardware to a winner’s trophy in Austin. The #31 Porsche 911 GT3 R not only took home the Pro-Am win, but overall honors as well. They were accompanied on the podium by Therese LahLouh and Thomas Merrill in second position, marking their first podium result in the series with the #242 Porsche.

Starting fourth in class, Musial Jr. executed a composed and consistent opening stint, methodically working forward. As pit stop strategies cycled through, they went on to emerge at the head of the field with Yardley behind the wheel, putting the team in prime position for the second half of the race.

A clean pit stop for tires and fuel with just over an hour remaining saw Yardley re-emerge onto the track with the lead intact. From there, he went on to take the checkered flag, solidifying a milestone result for the team in the process as they were further promoted to the overall win following a post-race time penalty handed to a Pro class competitor.

“What an awesome result here in Austin for us as both overall winners and Pro-Am winners in GT World Challenge America,” said Yardley. “Massive thank you to the team. Dave did an amazing job in the opening stints and handed over the car in the lead. Incredible result, I’m absolutely thrilled.”

“I’m super happy right now,” added Dave Musial Jr. “Finishing P1 overall, I mean you couldn’t ask for anything more. The team did everything they needed to do. Ryan killed it, I killed it, the team killed it. We’re super, super happy.”

Completing the team’s dominant outing, the #242 Porsche of Therese Lahlouh and Thomas Merrill secured a hard-fought and well-earned second-place result. Lahlouh delivered a standout performance during her stints, running third in class and overall during the early stages.

Merrill took over and continued the charge following a driver change, running second in class at the halfway mark. While pit stop sequences briefly saw him shuffle into third place, a swift overtake had him back on his way into second position all the way to the line.

“This feels really awesome,” expressed Lahlouh. “I just tried to stay calm and push hard. I gained confidence throughout the weekend and started to really see and believe what was possible and what I’m capable of. I’m really proud of my pace and grateful for all the support from the team. It means a lot.”

“That’s an exceptional result,” echoed Merrill. “The team absolutely nailed the strategy and put us in a great position, and Therese did an incredible job in her stint. We even got the Hard Charger award thanks to her, it shows what she accomplished early in the race. I’m proud of the result, and the 1–2 finish for the team is fantastic.”

Wright Motorsports will look to make another bid for the win at the upcoming SRO America round at Sebring International Raceway from May 8th to 10th, 2026.