Wright Motorsports Closes GT World Challenge America Season with Indianapolis 8 Hour Podium

Wright Motorsports concluded the 2026 GT World Challenge America season at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, tackling the eight-hour endurance event with two Porsche 911 GT3 R entries. The team secured a third-place Pro-Am class finish with the No. 31 Porsche of full-season drivers Dave Musial Jr. and Ryan Yardley, joined by Laurin Heinrich, while the No. 120 Pro class entry of Thomas Merrill, Kévin Estre, and Morris Schuring finished fourth in class after encountering an early-race setback.

The No. 31 Porsche entered the season finale looking to close out a strong debut campaign for Musial Jr. and Yardley, who arrived at Indianapolis in contention for the Pro-Am championship. Musial Jr. opened the race, navigating the early stages of the eight-hour contest and running seventh in class before Yardley took over shortly before the two-hour mark.

Yardley quickly established a strong pace, building up until he was comfortably sitting within podium contention during his stint. With the team executing its strategy cleanly, Heinrich climbed aboard next and continued the charge, helping the No. 31 move to the front of the Pro-Am field. At the halfway mark, Heinrich pitted from the class lead and handed the Porsche back to Yardley for the next phase of the race.

The team maintained its position among the class leaders through the second half of the event. A final pit stop with approximately 40 minutes remaining set the No. 31 up for the closing run to the checkered flag, where Heinrich brought the Porsche home third in Pro-Am.

The podium marked a fitting conclusion to a successful first season together for Musial Jr. and Yardley. The duo finished second in the final Pro-Am championship standings.

“All in all, it’s a good season, and we’re happy,” said Dave Musial Jr. “Obviously, we wanted to win, but second in the championship is huge for us. Last year, when Ryan and I talked about running in the GT World Challenge America series, we said we’d be happy if we finished in the top five. To finish second is an awesome result. Wright Motorsports was amazing, Ryan was awesome, and Laurin drove his heart out. I’m happy with everything.”

“Third in the eight-hour race is a result we can be happy with,” Ryan Yardley added. “Unfortunately, we fell just short of the championship, but finishing second in the standings is still something to be proud of. Massive credit to Dave Musial Jr. and Wright Motorsports for the fantastic job they’ve done all year. A huge thank you to Dave for bringing me along on this journey. It’s been fantastic, and we’re just getting started. I’m looking forward to what’s ahead.”

“Third in the Pro-Am class at the Indianapolis 8 Hour is definitely a solid result, although I’d be lying if I said we weren’t aiming for more,” Laurin Heinrich echoed. “Considering all the circumstances, we had a clean race, and we can be proud of that. The pit crew did a great job on all the stops, we had no technical issues, and we brought home some silverware. That keeps us motivated and was a satisfying way to end the season. I want to thank Wright Motorsports and my teammates, Dave and Ryan, for having me join their season finale effort.”

The No. 120 Porsche faced a more challenging path through the endurance event. Merrill started the race in the Pro class, but contact from a competitor and resulting damage on the opening lap forced the team to bring the car to pit lane for repairs, dropping the entry off the lead lap and putting the trio on the back foot early.

Merrill and Estre shared the driving duties through the opening portion as the team worked to recover lost ground. A series of full-course cautions allowed the No. 120 to regain the lead lap and return to contention. Employing an alternate pit strategy, the Porsche cycled to the overall race lead with four and a half hours remaining.

As the different pit cycles worked themselves out, Schuring and the rest of the crew worked to maximize the car’s position through the second half of the race. Estre took the wheel for the closing stint, but contact from another out-of-class competitor in the final 40 minutes sent him into a spin. The Frenchman recovered without surrendering fourth place, bringing the No. 120 home ninth overall and fourth in Pro.“It was a challenging eight hours for us, but the team did a great job getting us back out there and keeping us in the fight,” expressed Thomas Merrill. “We were able to work our way back into contention, so it was frustrating to have another setback late in the race. Still, I’m proud of the effort. We kept pushing until the checkered flag, and I’m grateful to Kévin and Morris for their work throughout the event. It wasn’t the result we wanted, but the team never gave up. Another big thank you to the Wright Motorsports team and to my full-season co-driver Therese Lahlouh for an incredible year and for the opportunity.”  

“P4 in class and P9 overall is definitely not what we came here for,” Estre added. “We had some setbacks early in the race, which left us on the back foot in terms of track position, and it was difficult to pass on this track. We were also missing a bit of performance, so there were some things we could have done better. Still, I think we worked well together as a team. It was nice to share the car with Morris and Thomas for the first time, and we had a good time both inside and outside the car. The same goes for working with the engineers and the entire Wright Motorsports team. Sometimes the result doesn’t come together, but we can take positives from the weekend.”

With the Indianapolis 8 Hour complete, Wright Motorsports brings its 2026 GT World Challenge America campaign to a close.