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Wright Motorsports Dominates Top Five Positions
at Sebring In IMSA GT3 Doubleheader

SEBRING, Fla., March 23 — Wright Motorsports of Batavia, Ohio had three drivers in the top five in both halves of the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama doubleheader Thursday and Friday, March 15-16 at Sebring International Raceway, which was the best overall result of any team competing.

One Wright Motorsports driver — Fernando Pena — was on the podium both days. He was joined by one of his five teammates — Sean Johnston — there on Friday.

The doubleheader supported the 60th anniversary Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida, the season opener for the American Le Mans Series.

“Running six cars at an event is a challenge and other teams were watching our performance closely, but our team functioned perfectly,” said John Wright, who owns the multi-series pro race team and premier Porsche tuning facility. “There wasn’t a hiccup all weekend. It was really gratifying. Everyone worked extremely well together. Pat Long, who is in charge of our driver development, did a great job and we were really happy with our results. I feel we have an extremely strong team and a lot of momentum going into the next event.”

Pena, of Minneapolis, finished second in both 45-minute races and led 10 laps of Friday’s 17-lap race. His No. 16 Porsche is sponsored by Colours, Inc.

“We were extremely pleased with Fernando’s performances,” Wright said. “He led most of Friday’s race and almost won it.”

Johnston, of Mt. Shasta, Calif., recorded a fifth-place finish on Thursday and a third-place finish on Friday in the team’s No. 10, which is sponsored by Driscoll’s Berries. He also topped the first official practice session on Wednesday morning.

“This event was Sean’s first IMSA GT3 race ever and his results say a ton about him too,” Wright pointed out. “He really showed a lot of maturity.”

Kasey Kuhlman of Cincinnati placed fourth on Thursday and fifth on Friday in the Wright Motorsports-prepared No. 15, which is sponsored by Kuhlsport and the Motorsports Country Club of Cincinnati. He set the fastest lap recorded by any driver in Friday’s race with a 2:08.612 on lap 16 for an average speed of 104.687 miles per hour for the 3.74-mile, 17-turn road course. That was quicker than the fastest race lap recorded on Thursday, which gave Michael Mills the pole for Friday’s race.

“Kasey is definitely one of the leaders on our team,” Wright said.

Madison Snow of Lehi, Utah, the rising star who won the series’ Gold Cup championship last year at the age of 15, was involved in accidents in both races in his first event with Wright Motorsports. Snow’s Universal Industrial Sales No. 62 placed 32nd on Thursday after completing nine of 21 laps.

He was involved in a multi-car chain-reaction incident on the first lap of Friday’s race in which debris went through his Porsche’s radiator, but after two pits stops for some quick repairs by the Wright Motorsports pit crew Snow stayed on the lead lap and battled back to finish 13th in that race.

Those results were certainly not reflective of Snow’s potential. He topped all 36 cars in the first test session at Sebring on Tuesday, with Kuhlman just 0.075 of a second behind him. Snow qualified fifth on Thursday morning too.

“He’s fast,” Wright said. “He drove his heart out coming back through the field on Friday.”

John Baker of New York City finished 12th on Thursday in another Porsche under the Wright Motorsports awning, the No. 47. He was involved in the same crash that spoiled Snow’s chances for a podium finish on Friday, placing 32nd.

“John had a great weekend for his first event with Wright Motorsports,” said Wright. “He integrated with the team perfectly and his lap times were very consistent. It’s a shame he got caught up in the chain-reaction crash on Friday, but he was hit from behind.”

John Ellis of Charlottesville, Va., who competed in selected events last year with Wright Motorsports, rejoined the team for Sebring and finished 17th on Thursday and 22nd on Friday in the Sage Water No. 8. He was on top of the charts after the second test session Tuesday afternoon.

“John Ellis brought his car back to the paddock without a scratch all weekend, which was a great accomplishment with the very tight competition,” Wright noted. “It was only his fourth IMSA GT3 race ever, and he did a great job.”

Polesitter Tim McKenzie led all 21 laps of Thursday’s race. Pena started second but he dropped to fourth in a skirmish on the first lap. Another skirmish on lap six worked out in his favor, as he had vaulted from fourth to second when he tripped the scoring system with seven laps complete.

He was more than 3 seconds behind the leader at that point but he cut that margin to just 0.783 of a second by lap 13 with about 17 minutes remaining. He was forced to back off a little later when he thought he may have cut one of his ADVAN ENV-R2 Yokohama tires, but the tire held up and he was still able to finish a solid second. Pena placed second to Henrique Cisneros in the overall Platinum Cup point standings last year too.

Two of Pena’s teammates — Kuhlman and Johnston — had a see-saw battle among themselves for fifth and sixth early but Johnston vaulted from fifth to third on lap seven when D. Bryce Miller spun and Johnston was able to pass Michael Mills. Mills got third back on lap 12 and held that spot until the end, but Kuhlman passed Johnston on lap 19 to regain fourth place with 19 laps down and that’s how they took the checkered two laps later.

Pena started third on Friday but he vaulted into the lead at the start right before a full-course caution waved for Seth Davidow and Scott Tucker, who had gotten off course.

“It probably looked more complicated than it was,” Pena told the series’ officials afterwards. “On the start, before I realized it, I found myself very close to the wall. At that point my job was to keep the car inside of him [Michael Mills] and just drive it. I want to take this chance to acknowledge Wright Motorsports and the cars they have given us. We have two out of the three cars on the podium and that speaks to the talent and knowledge of the team. They’ve been unbelievable this weekend.”

The green flew again on lap six, and so did Pena. He held off Mills masterfully until Mills finally snuck by on lap 11. Mills went on to take the checkered flag on lap 17, but Pena and Johnston were in hot pursuit to share the other two podium positions.

Johnston was third behind Pena and Tim McKenzie on that restart but McKenzie passed him on lap nine with about 28 minutes remaining in the race. Johnston got third back by repassing McKenzie on lap 14 with only about 4 minutes remaining.

“[Tim] McKenzie made a small mistake, and I was able to get alongside him going into 17,” said Johnston afterwards. “He came right around the outside, and we were both skidding towards the barrier. It was absolutely crazy. I couldn’t have imagined a situation like that in just my second race. I’m learning something every single lap I’m driving one of these cars. He [McKenzie] was a great

teacher, and I feel lucky that I was able to take advantage of the situation and be where I am today.”

Kuhlman almost passed McKenzie too. He was in fifth place, just 0.359 of a second behind Thursday’s winner, when time ran out. Kuhlman set the fastest lap of that race on the white-flag lap while he was trying to chase down McKenzie.

“I had a great weekend!” Kuhlman said. “Top-five finishes were my goals so we were successful. Last year I totaled my car here, so to come home with 26 points and not a scratch on the Kuhlsport machine is really rewarding. To have three Wright Motorsports cars in the top five is just awesome.”

The next two events are April 27-29 at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah and May 10-12 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Salinas, Calif. The complete schedule can be found on the series’ Web site at imsachallenge.com.

Additional information is on the team’s Web site at wrightmotorsports.com and its Facebook page.

About Wright Motorsports:

Wright Motorsports is a multi-series professional racing team and the premier Porsche tuning facility in Ohio. Located in Batavia, near Cincinnati, it is owned and directed by John Wright, a certified Porsche factory-trained technician. Whether directing his own team’s efforts or serving as crew chief for other teams, Wright’s expertise has earned him an outstanding reputation for quality. As a crew chief he has played a key role in winning four driver and three team championships in World Challenge, IMSA (ALMS) and the Grand-Am Rolex Series. In 1996 he was at the helm as Schumacher Racing won the 12 Hours of Sebring. Wright Motorsports also finished on the podium at the 2009 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. In 2012 it is fielding multiple entries in the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge and also servicing its customers who compete in other series and club-racing events.

About the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama:

The IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama is one of three official development series sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). It is also the largest one-make series in North America. The Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama produces intense, exciting competition for semi-professional drivers alongside some of the most promising career-minded GT drivers in one of the world’s most successful and iconic race cars, the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, and on some of North America’s most hallowed road racing circuits.

To learn more about the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama visit imsachallenge.com on the Web, on Facebook and Twitter.