BATAVIA, Ohio (September 1, 2020) – The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship returns to endurance racing this Friday and Saturday for the Michelin Endurance Challenge Weekend at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Running the first IMSA endurance event since January’s Rolex 24 At Daytona, Wright Motorsports will welcome Jan Heylen to the No. 16 Porsche 911 GT3 R’s driver lineup, joining full-time drivers Ryan Hardwick and Patrick Long.
“It’s great to have Jan back with us in GTD,” said Team Owner John Wright. “We’ve had some great races with him in years past, including a podium finish at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. He’ll be a strong addition to our full-time drivers, and with six hours of racing, we’re looking to have a well-executed run at Road Atlanta. We’ve barely put a wheel wrong all season, and this weekend, that kind of perfection can pay off in a big way during an endurance race.”
Heylen last raced in the GTD class with Wright Motorsports in the 2019 IMSA Encore at Sebring International Raceway, finishing second with Hardwick and Max Root. 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. More recently, he raced with the team in the 2017 Pirelli World Challenge, and currently coaches in the team’s Porsche GT3 Cup USA efforts.
Wright Motorsports has contested an almost perfect performance in what has been an unusual season. The pair of Hardwick and Long have finished in the top five for four of the five races so far in a highly competitive GTD field. With almost half of the championship complete, Wright Motorsports sits fifth in the GTD team standings, just four points away from the top-three. The Ohio-based team has consistently out-performed other competitors in pit lane, a crucial key to success for the endurance races.
The TireRack.com Grand Prix At Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta is replacing the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen, one of the many schedule changes or cancellations resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The 28-car field will take the green flag on Saturday, September 5th at 11:35AM ET, and race to the checker flag at 5:35PM ET. Each driver will need to complete no less than 90 minutes and no more than four hours in order for the team to score points.
The TireRack.com Grand Prix At Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta will air live on NBC Sports Network Saturday, September 5th from 11:30AM to 12:00PM, then continue from 2:30PM to 6:00PM. Subscribers to NBC Sports Gold TRACKPASS can stream the race live in its entirety, and also listen to IMSA Radio for comprehensive live coverage of the race and qualifying.
Porsche GT3 Cup USA by Yokohama
After a strong weekend at the VIRginia International Raceway double header, Charlie Luck and the No. 45 Porsche sit third in the Masters points championship, with four races complete and still 12 rounds remaining. Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta will host rounds five and six, each 45 minutes. Both races will air live on imsa.tv, Saturday, September 5th at 9:30AM ET and Sunday, September 6th at 8:00AM ET. The event will also air tape-delayed on September 16th at 5:00PM ET.
Driver Quotes
Ryan Hardwick
I am super excited about finally competing in an IMSA WeatherTech Championship race at my home track! I’ve lived and worked in the Atlanta area for most of my adult life, and it will feel great to finally race in a premier IMSA event here at Road Atlanta. I also think our Wright Motorsports team will continue to shine in these upcoming endurance races. These long races are more about how the entire team prepares and performs, and I don’t think there will be a more prepared team in the paddock this weekend. I’m also extremely pumped to welcome Jan Heylen on board as our third driver for the endurance races. Jan knows the Porsche inside and out, and he’s an incredibly fast and skilled driver. The addition of Jan gives us a very strong driver lineup for these long races, and I can’t wait to see what we can accomplish together.
Patrick Long
It’s been nearly two years since I have run in a race at Road Atlanta. I am hungry to get back there, as I feel it’s one of the most old school and challenging circuits in the world. My goal is to continue to build on our momentum from the last few IMSA rounds, and with six hours of racing, I feel this will help play into our strengths as an organization.
Jan Heylen
It’s really nice to be back with the Wright Motorsports in GTD. I’m looking forward to driving with Ryan Hardwick again, after finishing second together at the Sebring Encore last year. It was a really good experience working with Ryan, and hopefully we can pick up where we left off. After being best friends with Patrick Long for almost 25 years, this will be my first time sharing the car with him, which is really exciting. We go so far back, it would be really nice to have a good race with him and the team. I’ve been with Wright for maybe seven years now, and it’ll be nice to be racing with the family back in GTD. There will be a steep learning curve, as we don’t have a ton of time in the car before the race. But I’ve got all my notes from the team, and hopefully I can do my job, execute well, and come away with good points for the team to put Patrick and Ryan in place to run for the championship.
Charlie Luck
I’m super excited coming into Road Atlanta, one of my favorite racing tracks. It’s one of the first road racing tracks I ever did in the Busch NASCAR days in 1986. It reminded me so much of my days in motocross racing from ages 12 to 18. This is my fourth year coming to Road Atlanta, so I feel a lot of confidence around the track. We tested last Monday, which was a good and competitive test, and we feel like we have a god set up on the car. Coming off a good weekend at VIR, except for an accident on the restart, we had good consistent laps in second place for the entirety of both races. I feel really good about it, looking forward to it, and can’t wait.
1st Phorm
1st Phorm is a sports nutrition company based in St. Louis, MO. In 2009, CEO Andy Frisella and his business partner Chris Klein started the brand, and since then, it has become the fastest growing supplement company in the world. 1st Phorm has set the standards in the industry for quality and helping people reach their goals. This new racing partnership is not their first time in the exotic car scene either. 1st Phorm has been the title sponsor for the Gold Rush Rally for six years running. With over a million followers across social media, 1st Phorm has amassed a huge cult-like following known as, “The Legion of Boom.” They stand for a movement in the fitness world. To turn it back to what it was meant to be. Helping others improve their lives, to be a good human… and to drop the excuses and do the work. 1st Phorm is a winning brand and they don’t expect anything less when it comes to their race team. For additional info: www.1stphorm.com
Mountain Motorsports
Mountain Motorsports is a group of motorcycle and powersports dealerships with multiple locations in the southeastern United States. The company was founded by lifelong friends Ryan Hardwick and Justin Price when they opened their first location as a single-line Honda dealership in Sevierville, Tennessee in 1999. The company has since grown into one of the largest retailers of motorcycle and powersports vehicles in the nation, spanning eight dealership locations representing eleven of the industry’s most well-known brands. For additional info: www.mtn-motorsports.com
Una Vida Tequila
Una Vida translates to One Life. That is how this brand started. By people who want to live their “One Life” to the absolute fullest and to their highest potential. A group of guys from the Midwest who love great quality tequila, and want their One Life to have meaning and impact others.
One Life, One Tequila is our CORE BELIEF. We’re building the only tequila brand you will ever need to drink. Una Vida is bigger than just tequila we’re also building a culture of people who want to live their life to their utmost potential.
Our story begins and continues to grow bottle by bottle. It’s a life mission for us to create a community of people who all raise a glass knowing they’re living their ONE LIFE! For more information, visit unavidatequila.com
Henry Repeating Arms
Henry Repeating Arms is one of the leading rifle and shotgun manufacturers in the United States and a world leader in the lever-action category. The company motto is “Made in America, or not made at all” and its firearms come with a lifetime guarantee backed by award-winning customer service. The company is also known for its charitable endeavors under its Guns For Great Causes program, which focuses on sick children, both individual cases and children’s hospitals, veteran and wounded veteran organizations, Second Amendment and wildlife conservation organizations. The company currently employs 535 people and has 250,000 square feet of manufacturing space in its Rice Lake, Wisconsin and Bayonne, New Jersey facilities. The company is named in honor of Benjamin Tyler Henry who invented and patented the Henry rifle in 1860 – the first repeating rifle, the lever-action rifle, which is America’s unique contribution to international firearms design and is one of the most legendary, respected and sought after rifles in the history of firearms. Visit Henry Repeating Arms online at www.HenryUSA.com, on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/HenryRepeating, and on Instagram @Henry_Rifles.
Wright Motorsports
Wright Motorsports is the premier Porsche race engineering facility in Ohio and a multi-series, international racing team known for superb car preparation, expert race strategy and driver development. Located in Batavia, Ohio, it is owned and directed by John Wright, a certified Porsche factory-trained technician. As a crew chief John Wright has played a key role in winning eight driver and seven team championships in World Challenge, IMSA (ALMS) and the Grand-Am Rolex Series. Wright Motorsports won the team championship in Porsche GT3 Cup USA in 2012, 2013 and 2015, and went on to win the Pirelli World Challenge Overall, Sprint, Team and Manufacturer’s titles in 2017. The 2020 season will see the team return to IMSA Weathertech SportsCar Championship. For more information, visit wrightmotorsports.com
