WEATHERTECH AND SRO AMERICA
With over 20 years dedicated to driver development with Porsche machinery, Wright Motorsports is running full speed ahead into the 2022 race season. After winning the 2021 Michelin Endurance Cup, Wright Motorsports will return with the No. 16 1st Phorm Porsche 911 GT3 R in the IMSA WeatherTech WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Riding the momentum of their 2021 championship titles in the Michelin Pilot Challenge, Ryan Hardwick and Jan Heylen will climb back up to the IMSA GTD class for a full season, and be joined by Zacharie Robichon for the endurance races.
After clinching the team and driver championship titles for two consecutive years in the Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS, Wright Motorsports has announced their return to the series for the 2022 season. The veteran Porsche customer team will field a new lineup as Charlie Luck and Jan Heylen come together to race the No. 45 Porsche 911 GT3 R in the Pro/Am class.
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the top sports car racing series in North America, bringing manufacturers and competitors together from all over the world to race across some of the most famous and iconic road courses in the world. The 12-race championship features a series of shorter sprint races as well as legendary endurance races, such as the Rolex 24 At Daytona. The series consists of five classes, all competing within their own divisions as well as the overall finishing result. Every car has a minimum of two drivers in each race, sharing the driving duties over the course of the event. Wright Motorsports competes in the GTD class, a class comprised of both professional and amateur-ranked drivers. All races in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship can be viewed live on Peacock.
RYAN HARDWICK
No. 16 Porsche 911 GT3 R
Now in his third year with Wright Motorsports, Ryan Hardwick has amassed an exceptional amount of experience in his very short sports car racing career. In his first year of competition, he earned the runner-up championship in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Final, only to best that with both the Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Championship and SRO America Championship in 2018. In 2019, the 1st Phorm athlete campaigned the first five IMSA WeatherTech Championship events, earning a podium at Mid-Ohio SportsCar Course. His 2020 season with Patrick Long resulted in earning four more podiums, including a win at the legendary Twelve Hours of Sebring. In 2021, he emerged from his rookie season in the Michelin Pilot Challenge with the GS team championship after an exciting race season.
THE DRIVERS: IMSA WeatherTech
JAN HEYLEN
No. 16 Porsche 911 GT3 R
Jan Heylen has had a successful run with Wright Motorsports, earning podium finishes at the Rolex 24 At Daytona and Petit Le Mans his last full-season IMSA season with the team in 2014. Most recently, Heylen celebrated victory at the 2020 Twelve Hours of Sebring with Ryan Hardwick and Patrick Long. In addition to racing with the team in IMSA, Heylen has been a part of Wright's 2017 and 2020 efforts in Pirelli World Challenge and SRO America's GT World Challenge, and coaches in the team’s Porsche GT3 Cup USA efforts. In 2021, Heylen celebrated nine championships with Wright Motorsports, securing titles in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Michelin Pilot Challenge, and GT World Challenge America.
ZACHARIE ROBICHON
No. 16 Porsche 911 GT3 R
Aiding the team in their defense of the 2021 Michelin Endurance Cup title, the endurance championship within the full-season championship, Hardwick and Heylen will be joined by Zach Robichon, overall drivers’ champion in the 2021 GTD class. From competitor to teammate, Robichon’s successful experience racing Porsche machinery in the GTD class for the last three years gives the team a strong foothold to defend its 2021 Michelin Endurance Cup Championship. The 29-year-old Canadian racer will join the 1st Phorm racing duo at the season opener Rolex 24 At Daytona, the Twelve Hours of Sebring, Six Hours of the Glen, and season finale of Petit Le Mans.
GT World Challenge America
Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS is one of the premier North American GT series, sanctioned by SRO America. Racing across the best circuits from Sonoma to Indianapolis, the 2022 season will focus on upper echelon GT3 racing as we welcome the return of the Pro-pairing class. The three-day race weekends will feature 90-min double-header races for complete and exciting race weekends. CBS Sports will continue to air live and time-delayed broadcasts of each event while all races will be streamed live globally. In addition, the top-level GT racing will continue to have a global as the series helps host the Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli Indianapolis 8 Hours.
CHARLIE LUCK
No. 45 Porsche 911 GT3 R
Exciting new challenges lie ahead for Wright Motorsports driver and reigning GT America champion Charlie Luck, who this year advances up to the Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS.
Luck raced for four years in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama before joining the GT America powered by AWS series. With Wright Motorsports, Luck dominated the inaugural season of the GT America series with thirteen pole positions, nine wins, and an additional four podium finishes. He not only won the Masters class, but also the overall drivers' championship.
This year, Luck will depart from the single-driver, forty-minute race format of GT America to compete in GT World Challenge America. The top-level of SRO America, this series features two drivers sharing a car over the course of a 90-minute race, with one mandatory full-service pit stop during the event. Luck and Heylen will compete in the Pro/Am class, defending Wright’s 2021 team and driver championship titles.
THE DRIVERS: GT World Challenge America
JAN HEYLEN
No. 45 Porsche 911 GT3 R
Though this will be the first time the pair share a car for a full-season program, Luck and Heylen have a longstanding relationship, going back to Luck’s days in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA with Heylen as his coach. For the last five years, Heylen has acted as Luck’s coach, helping guide his progress through the ranks to race and capture the overall title in the GT America championship. In 2021, following great success with Wright Motorsports in the team's various programs, Heylen was awarded the Porsche Cup, an honor awarded annually to the most successful private Porsche driver. This season, Heylen joins Luck to defend his 2021 champion's title in the GT World Challenge America Pro/Am class.
The Car
Porsche 911 GT3 R
TECHNICAL SPECS
ENGINE MOUNTS: Water-cooled flat-six engine in the rear
POWER OUTPUT: Max. 550hp depending on the FIA BoP (restrictor)
TRANSMISSION: Porsche six-speed constant-mesh gearbox (sequential)
BRAKING SYSTEM: Six-piston aluminum monobloc racing brake calipers in front, four piston units in rear
STEERING: McPherson strut in front, multi-link axle in rear, adjustable motorsport vibration dampers, heavy anti-roll bar
SAFETY: Welded roll cage, FT3 safety fuel cell, fire-extinguishing system