Porsche customer race team leads points heading into second IMSA round
BATAVIA, Ohio, (March 15, 2022) -- Following a monumental race win at the prestigious Rolex 24 At Daytona, this weekend Wright Motorsports heads into the next round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship: the Twelve Hours of Sebring. The Porsche customer racing team leads the GTD class points in both the team and driver standings after securing the biggest win in the team’s history to date. The Rolex 24-winning drivers Ryan Hardwick, Jan Heylen, and Zacharie Robichon will pilot the No. 16 1st Phorm Porsche. The John Wright-owned operation is determined to maintain the team’s 2022 success, as well as continue the two-year podium streak the team holds at Sebring International Raceway.
In 2020, the team secured victory at the Twelve Hours of Sebring, surviving early race contact and persisting through a broken shock to take the big win with drivers Ryan Hardwick, Patrick Long, and Jan Heylen. The following year, the No. 16 1st Phorm Porsche started from pole position and led many laps of the race with Patrick Long, Jan Heylen, and Trent Hindman, ultimately finishing second in a Porsche 1-2 result. The team’s strength at Sebring combined with recent success at the Rolex 24 at Daytona will assuredly maintain the team’s standing as a competitor to keep a close watch on.
“We’re still very much riding the high from the Rolex 24 At Daytona,” said Team Owner John Wright. “That was an incredible moment in our team’s history, but as soon as the event was over, it became time to focus forward and get ready for the rest of the season. Our team is ready, our car is prepared, and the drivers are focused. Momentum and consistency are on our side, and we ready for an event that always demands the most from its competitors.”
The Twelve Hours of Sebring always provides race participants with a unique experience. Constructed on a portion of Hendricks Army Airfield—now Sebring Regional Airport, Sebring International Raceway is known amongst sportscar fans for its bumpy surface. The mix of concrete and asphalt surfaces across its 3.741-mile, 17-turn surface reflects great amounts of character from its early days in the 1950s, lacking the frequent repaving procedures that most modern-day tracks undergo.
On-track activities for the 70th Annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts begin on Thursday, Mach 17, which will have three practice sessions throughout the day. Participants of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will qualify on Friday afternoon, then partake in the series-wide driver autograph session in the paddock. The 51-car field will take the green flag for twelve exciting hours of racing beginning on Saturday, March 19 at 10:10 am. Fans in the United States can listen to IMSA Radio’s live coverage of all sessions and stream the race live in its entirety on Peacock, NBC Universal’s streaming network. Fans outside the USA can check IMSA’s International coverage page for local listings.
DRIVER QUOTES
Ryan Hardwick
Sebring is without a doubt the toughest and most grueling race of the year. Our team has a lot of momentum coming off of the monumental win in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, and we are not planning to let our foot off the gas heading into Sebring! Our Wright Motorsports team has been hard at work preparing for this event, and I’m confident we will have a strong car that will handle all the bumps and challenges that Sebring always throws at us.
Jan Heylen
The Twelve Hours of Sebring is one of the biggest races of the year and definitely one of my favorite events of the season. It’s a good atmosphere with fans camping out, and it’s always an event I really look forward to. Coming off Daytona with the win, there’s obliviously a lot of good momentum on our side. We have a good track record at Sebring. Going into the event leading the championship puts a lot of healthy pressure on the team to perform. I know that we’re always well prepared and I hope we can give the team, Porsche, Ryan, and 1st Phorm another win at Sebring. I can’t wait to get the weekend started.
Zacharie Robichon
Coming off our success at Daytona and my class victory in 2021 at Sebring, I’m more motivated than ever to continue our success. I think we have a good chance at a strong race, and I know the team will continue to give us a car capable of fighting for victory. These long races are always so unpredictable. Therefore, we’ll do our best to be smart for the first nine hours and make sure we have a car ready for a battle at the end.
Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands
The 2022 season for the Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands begins its race season this weekend at Sebring Intentional Raceway, racing in support of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Varun Choksey, Hutton McKenna, and John Goetz will represent Wright Motorsport, participating in a pair of 40-minute races on Thursday, March 17 at 9:15 am and 1:25 pm U.S. Eastern. The races will stream live at porschecarreracup.us and on Peacock.
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1st Phorm
1st Phorm is a sports nutrition company based in St. Louis, MO. In 2009, CEO Andy Frisella and his business partner Chris Klein started the brand, and since then, it has become the fastest growing supplement company in the world. 1st Phorm has set the standards in the industry for quality and helping people reach their goals. This new racing partnership is not their first time in the exotic car scene either. 1st Phorm has been the title sponsor for the Gold Rush Rally for six years running. With over a million followers across social media, 1st Phorm has amassed a huge cult-like following known as, “The Legion of Boom.” They stand for a movement in the fitness world. To turn it back to what it was meant to be. Helping others improve their lives, to be a good human... and to drop the excuses and do the work. 1st Phorm is a winning brand and they don’t expect anything less when it comes to their race team. For additional info: www.1stphorm.com
Mountain Motorsports
Mountain Motorsports is a group of motorcycle and powersports dealerships with multiple locations in the southeastern United States. The company was founded by lifelong friends Ryan Hardwick and Justin Price when they opened their first location as a single-line Honda dealership in Sevierville, Tennessee in 1999. The company has since grown into one of the largest retailers of motorcycle and powersports vehicles in the nation, spanning nine dealership locations representing eleven of the industry’s most well-known brands. For additional info: www.mountainmotorsports.com
Una Vida Tequila
Una Vida translates to One Life. That is how this brand started. By people who want to live their “One Life” to the absolute fullest and to their highest potential. A group of guys from the Midwest who love great quality tequila, and want their One Life to have meaning and impact others.
One Life, One Tequila is our CORE BELIEF. We’re building the only tequila brand you will ever need to drink. Una Vida is bigger than just tequila we’re also building a culture of people who want to live their life to their utmost potential.
Our story begins and continues to grow bottle by bottle. It’s a life mission for us to create a community of people who all raise a glass knowing they’re living their ONE LIFE! For more information, visit unavidatequila.com
Wright Motorsports
Wright Motorsports is the premier Porsche race engineering facility in Ohio and a multi-series and international racing team known for superb car preparation, expert race strategy, and driver development. Located in Batavia, Ohio, 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, and went on to win the Pirelli World Challenge Overall, Sprint, Team, and Manufacturer’s titles in 2017. In 2020, the team captured the GT World Challenge America Am championship. In 2021, Wright Motorsports had a wildly successful season, capturing nine championships across their five racing efforts.