WEATHERTECH AND SRO AMERICA
With over 20 years dedicated to driver development with Porsche machinery and multiple championship titles on our resume, Wright Motorsports is running full speed ahead into the 2023 race season.
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In the first of several 2023 announcements to come, Wright Motorsports is proud to welcome 2022 Michelin Pilot Challenge champions Alan Brynjolfsson and Trent Hindman to the team, bringing the VOLT Racing program into the Porsche family, competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD class. The pair will be racing brand-new machinery, the Wright Motorsports No. 77 VOLT® Lighting Porsche 911 GT3 R (type 992), in the iconic electric yellow and black VOLT® Racing livery.
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​The highly-anticipated 61st Rolex 24 At Daytona will kick off the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship next month, and Wright Motorsports has assembled another impressive lineup to defend last year’s unforgettable victory. Ryan Hardwick, Jan Heylen, and Zacharie Robichon all return to the Wright Motorsports No. 16 1st Phorm Porsche 911 GT3 R (type 992) in defense of the win and will be joined by veteran Wright driver Dennis Olsen.
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Stay tuned for further announcements to come over the coming months.
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 11-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.
RYAN HARDWICK
No. 16 Porsche 911 GT3 R | IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup
Now in his fourth 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. He added to his list of accomplishments in 2022, adding "Rolex 24 At Daytona Winner" to his resume, and returns this year for another attempt at the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup title.
JAN HEYLEN
No. 16 Porsche 911 GT3 R | IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup
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. 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. That season, he was awarded the prestigious Porsche Cup, given annually to the most successful Porsche driver in the world.
ZACHARIE ROBICHON
No. 16 Porsche 911 GT3 R | IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup
Aiding the team in another campaign for the 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 gave the team a strong foothold to go on to win the 2022 Rolex 24 At Daytona.
No. 16 Porsche 911 GT3 R | Rolex 24 At Daytona
DENNIS OLSEN
Olsen last raced with Wright Motorsports in 2019, where he earned four podium finishes in what is now the SRO Fanatec GT World Challenge America championship. He also participated in the team’s Indianapolis 8 Hour effort that season, racing alongside Dirk Werner and Matt Campbell. More recently, driving another team’s Porsche 911 GT3 R, the Norwegian racer stood third on the Daytona podium while watching Wright celebrate it’s Rolex 24 At Daytona win last season.
ALAN BRYNJOLFSSON
No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 R | Full Season
As the premier sports car racing championship in North America, the move from Michelin Pilot Challenge’s GS class to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will be an exciting new test for Alan Brynjolfsson, a 55-year-old gentleman racer. Created for both professionals and amateurs to race in the same class, GTD provides a competitive arena for Pro/Am pairings to race at North America’s best circuits. Currently slated to be one of just a few full-season bronze drivers, Brynjolfsson will be competing against some of the top-rated drivers in the world with long time co-driver Hindman by his side for a sixth year. An accomplished racer himself, the 2022 Michelin Pilot Challenge champion also won the highly-coveted Porsche Cup in 2019, an award given annually to the most successful non-factory Porsche driver in the world.
TRENT HINDMAN
No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 R | Full Season
At just 27 years old, Hindman is on a four-year championship-winning streak, having captured the IMSA WeatherTech GTD championship (2019), the 2020 GT World Challenge America title (2020), the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup (2021), and most recently the 2022 Michelin Pilot Challenge championship (2022). His return to Wright in the GTD class comes after he earned four podium finishes for the team in 2021, racing alongside former Porsche Factory Driver Patrick Long. He returns to Wright Motorsports and the GTD class this season to continue racing with longtime co-driver Alan Brynjolfsson in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
MAX ROOT
No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 R | Michelin Endurance Cup
Root first joined Wright Motorsports in 2017 at age 17, racing in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama. After two years in the series, he advanced to the Pro/Am class of the Fanatec GT World Challenge America, racing with Wright alongside Fred Poordad. The two secured the 2020 championship title, and Root returned to the team in 2021, competing in the Indianapolis 8 Hour, Michelin Pilot Challenge, and the Porsche Carrera Cup North America. The young American racer also has endurance racing experience, finishing sixth at the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2020. He'll join Brynjolfsson and Hindman for the four IMSA WeatherTech Endurance Cup races.
No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 R | Rolex 24 At Daytona
KEVIN ESTRE
Porsche Factory driver Kevin Estre will complete the lineup for the Porsche, bringing with him a stout racing resume. Now at the age of 34, Estre is beginning his eighth year as a factory driver for the German manufacturer. With three sports car racing titles and one win at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring under his belt, the Frenchman is a force to be reckoned with in Porsche machinery. He last competed in the IMSA WeatherTech series in 2021, earning two podiums in three races with WeatherTech Racing in the GTLM class. He joins the team for the longest race of the year, the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the only IMSA WeatherTech event requiring each car to have four drivers participating.
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