NEXT UP: IMSA ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY | JANUARY 26-29
DAYTONA, Fla., (January 25, 2023) – The Rolex 24 At Daytona has arrived with Wright Motorsports and the No. 16 1st Phorm Porsche entering the week armed and ready to defend the team’s 2022 win in the GTD class. Last week, the team completed the Roar Before the 24, conducting the first shakedown of the new Porsche 911 GT3 R (type 992) at Daytona International Speedway. With official testing complete, race week activities begin, and thus the assault on the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship title and the top honors in the iconic endurance event, January 28 – 29.
“Our win last season is the perfect motivation entering into this year’s Rolex 24 and the 2023 championship,” said Team Owner John Wright. “All the pieces and all the hard work came together, and we proved that Wright Motorsports has what it takes to win. The 1st Phorm Porsche finished the Roar as the top Porsche but we still have some work to do in the upcoming days to keep making gains on the rest of the field. We’re feeling good heading into this weekend, and we’re excited to be back.”
Ryan Hardwick, Jan Heylen, and Zacharie Robichon have returned to defend last year’s win, this time joined by Intercontinental GT Challenge champion Dennis Olsen. The 26-year-old finished the 2022 Rolex 24 in third, racing a Porsche in the GTD Pro class.
The present-day field of entrants has yielded nine new Porsche 911 GT3 R race cars, which were delivered to teams at the end of 2022. While programs may have conducted private tests leading up to the start of the new season, last week’s Roar Before the 24 brought all the new entries together for several days of on-track shakedowns. The drivers noted an increase in the car’s drivability, as well as more efficient aerodynamics and torque. Both were key targets of Porsche when the newest iteration of the iconic 911 racer was designed.
Unofficially, the No. 16 1st Phorm Porsche will start the race from 13th place in the GTD class, one of five classes competing in the event. The GTP, LMP2, and LMP3 classes consist of varying types of prototypes while the GTD Pro and GTD classes strictly run with machinery based off of street cars from the world’s leading manufacturers. The GTD Pro class features all-professional driver lineups, while the GTD class driver lineups offer a mixture of professional and amateur-ranked lineups. The GTD class is the biggest run group, making up 40 percent of the 61-car field.
Activities for the Rolex 24 At Daytona will begin on Thursday, January 26 with the first of five practice sessions in two days. The start of the 61st Rolex 24 at Daytona begins at 1:40 PM Eastern on Saturday, January 28, concluding exactly 24 hours later on Sunday afternoon. The broadcast will air live from the wave of the green flag to the drop of the checkered flag on Peacock, NBC Universal’s streaming platform. The first hour of the race will also air live on NBC before switching to the USA Network. IMSA Radio will offer live coverage worldwide without brakes on imsaradio.com. For all event information, follow the team on social media or visit wright motorsports.com or imsa.com.
Ryan Hardwick
I’m really looking forward to returning to the Rolex 24 with my Wright Motorsports team and teammates. Winning the race last year was truly one of the most special moments of my life. Experiencing something like that just leaves you yearning for more, so that is our focus going into this race. The Roar was a bit of a head scratcher for us. The BOP that was given to the Porsches had us all between three and four seconds off the pace of the other GTD cars, so we have our work cut out for us at a track that is so dependent on top speed. But if anyone can overcome challenges like these, it is our team. We will be ready to go to battle for 24 hours come race day.
Jan Heylen
I’m excited to be back and I am really looking forward to next week. We’re obviously coming off a strong season last year but it’s a new year, and a new car. It’s nice to be here with the same team while we learn all there is to learn about this new car. This is my favorite event, so I’m really happy to be back and can’t wait to get started.
Zacharie Robichon
Going into the race, we’ve been working very hard on the car to try and understand this new platform and finding the best way to exploit the speed out of it. Obviously at this point, there’s certain things out of our control, that may be hindering our performance. That being said, our job is to get the most out of the package we have and we’re checking all our boxes. We’re making steps to best understanding these new 911 GT3 R Porsches, and we’re looking forward to improving from where we started, as we have been.
Dennis Olsen
The Roar Before the 24 and qualifying is done. We expected to be a little bit further up the field, but we’re working hard with the car and the team is doing a good job. It seems like the other manufacturers have a bit of an edge on the straight-line speed. Hopefully we’ll get some help there from the series organizers and we can be able to fight for the win. It has been nice to get started with the new car, and it’s definitely a huge challenge. We’re doing a lot of different things to understand the package best. We have a great team around us to do the right things, and I’m looking forward to the race. I think we will have a great chance.
Wright Motorsports
Wright Motorsports is the premier Porsche race engineering facility in Ohio and a multi-series and 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. In 2020, the team captured the GT World Challenge America Am championship. In 2021, Wright Motorsports had a wildly successful season, capturing nine championships across their five racing efforts.
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 nine dealership locations representing eleven of the industry’s most well-known brands. For additional info: www.mountainmotorsports.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
Motul
Motul is a world-class French company specializing in the formulation, production, and distribution of high-tech engine lubricants (two-wheelers, cars, and other vehicles) as well as lubricants for the industry via its MotulTech activity. Present in more than 120 countries, Motul USA was established in 1989 as a subsidiary of Motul France and is based in Southern California. Motul is recognized as the specialist in synthetic lubricants. As early as 1971, Motul was the first lubricant manufacturer to pioneer the formulation of a 100% synthetic lubricant for automotive engines, the 300V lubricant, making use of Esters technology from the aeronautical industry.
Throughout the years, Motul has gained experience as an official supplier for many racing teams and manufacturers to further technological development in motorsports. Motul is supporting those teams in international competitions such as 24 Hours of Le Mans (cars and motorcycles), FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Super GT, Formula Drift, Pikes Peak, Dakar, Le Mans Classic, MotoGP, World Superbike, World MX, IOM TT, and score of others.
We represent the highest quality in racing safety with the intention of maintain our position at the top. With 50 years in the industry, Sabelt is the world’s premier safety equipment manufacturer. A result of intense research and development.
