WEATHERTECH AND SRO AMERICA
With over 20 years dedicated to driver development with Porsche machinery, Wright Motorsports is running full speed ahead into the 2021 race season. In addition to competing in the Porsche Carrera Cup North America and Michelin Pilot Challenge, Wright Motorsports will be running in the three primary GT3 racing series in North America: The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and SRO America's GT World Challenge America and GT America.
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the leading sports car racing series in North America, bringing together the world's top manufacturers, teams, and drivers for a level of competition like no other. The series is comprised of five classes: DPi, LMP2, LMP3, GTLM, and GTD. The series holds twelve races across North America each season, comprised of four endurance events and eight sprint races. Ryan Hardwick and Patrick Long will pilot the No. 16 Porsche 911 GT3 R in the GTD class for the full season, joined by Jan Heylen and Klaus Bachler for select endurance races.
In SRO America, Wright Motorsports is returning to the Fanatec GT World Challenge America Powered by AWS after winning the 2020 Am championship. The 2021 GT World Challenge America championship will continue with the SprintX format: two 90-minute races each weekend, in six double headers across North America’s most iconic courses, with a one-race season finale at the Indianapolis 8 Hour. Fred Poordad and Jan Heylen will together race the No. 20 Porsche 911 GT3 R in the Pro/Am class.
Created for Bronze-rated drivers, the GT America Powered by AWS is the newest addition to SRO America, racing GT2, GT3, and GT4 machinery. The 2021 calendar will feature seven double header weekends, running in support of the GT World Challenge America. The format will feature a single-driver running two 40-minute races each weekend. This year, Charlie Luck will race the No. 45 Porsche 911 GT3 R in the new series.
2021 GT3 Pro/Am Racing Schedule
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RYAN HARDWICK
No. 16 Porsche 911 GT3 R
Though new to Porsches race cars, 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.
THE DRIVERS: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
PATRICK LONG
No. 16 Porsche 911 GT3 R
Returning to Wright Motorsports for another year of competition, Porsche Factory driver Patrick Long will continue to race with the fan-favorite Porsche team. The three-time ALMS GT champion also holds three Pirelli World Challenge titles, and currently has an impressive 28 wins in IMSA, placing him in the top 25 of over 1,000 drivers to earn at least one victory in the series over the years. Long’s impressive resume, combined with his longstanding relationship with team owner John Wright will give the team a strong upper hand against the rest of the competition in the GTD class in 2021. Together Ryan Hardwick and Patrick Long finished second in the 2020 GTD championship, and will be strong title contenders for the upcoming season.
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 will return to the team as the endurance addition for the four North American Endurance Cup races on the schedule.
KLAUS BACHLER
No. 16 Porsche 911 GT3 R
A former Porsche Junior driver, Klaus Bachler will bring with him a strong Porsche racing resume, returning to the team for the first time since his 2013 outing with Melanie and Madison Snow, Marco Seefried and Sascha Maassen. The young Austrian is no stranger to endurance racing, having also competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans three times, and earned two podiums and eleven top five finishes in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Klaus Bachler will again support Wright Motorsports as an addition for the Rolex 24 only, where the team kicked off the 2020 season with a solid fourth place finish.
FRED POORDAD
No. 20 Porsche 911 GT3 R
After dominating the GT World Challenge America Am championship with Max Root, Dr. Fred Poordad will continue his driver development path by stepping into the next class, racing in Pro/Am with driver Jan Heylen in the No. 20 Porsche 911 GT3 R. Poordad and Root swept the Am class in 2020, earning nine podiums and seven wins together. The No. 20 Porsche had an impressive year, finishing on the overall podium beating out Pro/Am lineups on four occasions. Poordad, with co-drivers Max Root and Jan Heylen, ended the season on a high note, earning top honors in the Silver Cup class in the Intercontinental GT Indianapolis 8 Hour.
THE DRIVERS: GT World Challenge
JAN HEYLEN
No. 20 Porsche 911 GT3 R
Heylen raced alongside Poordad in the No. 20 Porsche three times in the 2020 GT World Challenge season. While Root raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Heylen subbed for the young American, celebrating two more podium finishes with Poordad. The team’s class win at Indianapolis also produced a strong sixth place finish overall, braving cold and rainy racing conditions to earn a strong result in a highly competitive field. Heylen’s 2021 race season is fully interwoven with Wright Motorsports, racing in the Michelin Pilot Challenge for the full season, acting as the third addition for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship North American Endurance Cup Events, coaching Charlie Luck in the GT World Challenge America, and also racing the full season in the GT World Challenge championship.
CHARLIE LUCK
No. 45 Porsche 911 GT3 R
Exciting new challenges lie ahead for Wright Motorsports driver Charlie Luck, who will advance from the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama to SRO America’s new GT America powered by AWS. Coming from a single-make Porsche series, the level of competition will dramatically broaden for Luck and the No. 45 Porsche 911 GT3 R in 2021. Created as a training ground for FIA Bronze-rated drivers, GT America powered by AWS series will feature GT3 and GT4-spec machinery from at least seven different automotive manufacturers.
“I’ve completed four seasons of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama, and I had a great experience,” said Luck. “I’ve been fortunate to finish second in the points in two of the three years I was in the Platinum class, and I was ready for the next challenge. The last thing you want to do is change classes, then only have three or four people to compete against. GT America was really appealing to me in that there would be Bronze and Masters Bronze drivers.”
THE DRIVERS: GT America
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