SEBRING, Fla., (September 20, 2022) – Following another stout performance by the Wright Motorsports Porsche racing duo of Charlie Luck and Jan Heylen at Road America last month, the pairing now heads to Sebring International Raceway, hopeful to keep and expand their points lead in the Fanatec GT World Challenge America Powered by AWS.
“Sebring is a notoriously challenging circuit for both drivers and cars, but Wright Motorsports has some very strong finishes here,” said Team Owner John Wright. “With one of our two shops based out of Stuart, Florida, it’s something of a local track to us, and we feel we’ve put in the time here to have a strong performance this weekend as the Pro/Am title defense continues on.”
Activities for rounds 11 and 12 of the 13-race season commence on Thursday, September 22 with a day full of testing before official sessions begin on Friday. The pressure is on for the Pro/Am class competitors in the GT3-only championship. Following Wright’s third-place finish in race one and fourth place in race two at Road America, Luck and Heylen climbed from second to the lead in the Pro/Am standings. The father and son-in-law hold just a two-point lead over the Racers Edge Motorsports duo of Ashton Harrison and Mario Farnbacher, with the CrowdStrike with Riley Motorsports lineup of George Kurtz and Colin Braun remaining in the points fight as well. Only four points separate the three teams, while the fourth-place entry of Chandler Hull and Bill Auberlen also can contend for the fight, with 24 points separating them from the lead.
With 25 points awarded for each win, competitors have two chances to gain ground in their championship endeavors this weekend. Saturday and Sunday will each host a 90-minute race in the final double header of the 2022 season. The fight for the title will end at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, at the 8 Hours of Indy, where teams will receive double points based on their finishing position in the endurance race Saturday, October 8.
Wright Motorsports has a long-running history of positive results at Sebring International Raceway in both the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship as well as the SRO GT World Challenge America series. Last year, Fred Poordad and Jan Heylen secured the class win, finishing third overall before clinching the title for the team at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The team’s consistency on track and in pit lane continues to set the Porsche racing squad ahead of the competition.
Race one at Sebring International Raceway will begin at 2:15 PM ET, followed by race two at 1:15 PM ET. Both races will air live on YouTube.com/GTWorld.
DRIVER QUOTES
Charlie Luck
Sebring was my first race in sports cars in 2017. It is such a cool place with so much heritage, and an incredibly challenging racing surface which is tons of fun to compete on. We look forward to bringing our very best to the weekend.
Jan Heylen
There are just two events left in the season and we’re leading the championship heading into Sebring, so it’s a good place to be. There are still four cars that can potentially win the title, so it’s going to be a fun run down to the end. Sebring should be a track that fits the Porsche well. Hopefully we will have some good pace and be in the place to defend our lead in the championship. Charlie has been training hard and did really well in the test. We’ll be ready and well prepared and I’m really looking forward to it.
SCHEDULE | All Times U.S. EASTERN
Thursday, September 22
11:30 AM -- 12:30 AM Test Session 1
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM Test Session 2
Friday, September 23
8:00 AM – 8:30 AM Bronze Test
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM Practice 1
3:15 PM – 4:15 PM Practice 2
Saturday, September 24
9:00 AM – 9:15 AM Qualify Driver 1
9:20 AM – 9:35 AM Qualify Driver 2
2:15 PM – 3:45 PM Race 1
Sunday, September 25
11:00 AM – 11:30 AM Autograph Session
12:30 PM – 1:00 PM Grid Walk
1:15 PM – 2:45 PM Race 2