This weekend, Sebring, Florida becomes a hotbed of racing action as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship resumes the 2023 championship with the Twelve Hours of Sebring. Entering the second round in the full-season championship, the drivers and crew of the No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R are ready and eager to return to the top step, after celebrating a win in 2020, and finishing second in 2021.
“The No. 16 Porsche has done very well at Sebring in recent years,” said Team Owner John Wright. “The group on the 1st Phorm car knows firsthand how to get the job done to make it to the top step of the podium on this race. It has been a busy stretch of preparation since the Rolex 24 At Daytona in January, and we’re ready to get this event going.”
The No. 16 Porsche had a challenging start to the season, resulting in a hard-fought top-ten finish at the grueling Rolex 24 at Daytona. The team’s tenacity and persistence paid off, still bettering 14 other cars in the GTD class. Drivers Ryan Hardwick, Jan Heylen, and Zacharie Robichon, the 2022 pole sitter, have high hopes heading into Sebring International Raceway, armed with their knowledge and previous experience on the circuit, joined with the team’s recent successes on the 3.74-mile, 17-turn course.
A key event in the racing calendar, the Twelve Hours of Sebring attracts top drivers and teams from around the world. Built as a military training airfield during World War II, Sebring International Raceway is now a world-renowned motorsport complex in Sebring, Florida. Despite the track’s modern upgrades, the circuit holds on to the original concrete surface. The unique, bumpy, and abrasive pavement makes tire management an important key to the race, as 54 entries race in five classes over the course of the twelve-hour race.
DRIVER QUOTES
Ryan Hardwick
I always look forward to racing at Sebring. The track and the race itself are so demanding on the teams, the cars and the drivers. To be successful here, you have to be prepared and you need to be tough! That is exactly why our Wright Motorsports team has won this race previously. I’m hopeful that IMSA will make the changes needed with the balance of performance so that our car can have the chance to be in the fight. Hopefully they can do what’s needed so we can all put on a great race for the amazing Sebring fans.
Jan Heylen
I’m happy to be going back to Sebring. We obviously didn’t have the best start to the year and didn’t get the result we were hoping for at Daytona. I think we’ll be in a much better place at Sebring, and I can’t wait to be back at the front of the field and fight for a victory. I hope we can pay Ryan Hardwick and the team back with a good result after a tough weekend at Daytona. The Twelve Hours of Sebring is one of my favorite races and should be a lot fun.
Zacharie Robichon
Last year at Sebring we started strong, and were hit with some tough luck. We have something to prove after that race and with the struggles we faced at Daytona, but we come prepared. This track is a completely new challenge for our new 911 GT3 R and we’ll be sure to get the most out of it over the bumps.
The Wright Motorsports No. 77 Porsche made its IMSA WeatherTech debut in January at the Rolex 24 At Daytona, and this weekend, the bright yellow Porsche enters round two of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Sebring International Raceway. Sebring, Florida will celebrate the 71st running of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on Saturday, March 18. Alan Brynjolfsson will make his Twelve Hour debut, joined alongside by full-season co-driver Trent Hindman and fellow event rookie, Max Root.
“This group is definitely ready for Sebring,” said Team Owner John Wright. “The squad behind the VOLT effort did an excellent job in their IMSA WeatherTech debut at Daytona for the Rolex 24 At Daytona. It can be intimidating to start the year off with the biggest event, but they hung in there to run a strong race and finish ahead of veteran teams and drivers. We’re taking that momentum with us to Sebring, hoping for another strong performance in one of the most exciting races of the year.”
A key event in the racing calendar, the Twelve Hours of Sebring attracts top drivers and teams from around the world. Built as a military training airfield during World War II, Sebring International Raceway is now a world-renowned motorsport complex in Sebring, Florida. Despite the track’s modern upgrades, the circuit holds on to the original concrete surface. The unique, bumpy, and abrasive pavement makes tire management an important key to the race, as 54 entries race in five classes over the course of the twelve-hour race.
The Wright Motorsports No. 77 Porsche will compete in the GTD class, racing alongside the GTP, LMP2, LMP3, and GTD Pro classes. Each of the 54 entries will have three drivers sharing the driving duties for each car, with drivers needing to complete a minimum of one hour each. Unlike some of the other classes, the GTD class requires a combination of one professional and one amateur-rated driver to be in each car, making it the most exciting class to watch in the WeatherTech series.
Though a rookie to the iconic event, Brynjolfsson has his own successes on the famous circuit. Just last season, he and Hindman celebrated a second-place finish at the 3.7-mile, 17-turn road course in the Michelin Pilot Challenge series. Root also celebrated a second-place finish at Sebring, racing alongside Jan Heylen in 2021 in a Wright Motorsports Porsche in the same series. The trio will be an admirable assembly, and certainly a race-contending entry throughout the course of the twelve-hour endurance racing event.
Alan Brynjolfsson
As a rookie to the series, I’ve shaken off the newbie vibes and I’m ready to start competing. Sebring is our first drivers’ track and I am looking forward to showing what we are really like and get this season started.
Trent Hindman
There’s so much emphasis on the first two races of the IMSA WeatherTech Championship season. Not only are they the most significant, headlining events of the year, but they’re also what creates the momentum our team will carry into the following nine rounds. On paper, Daytona may have looked like a tough one, as it always is, but to us there was a ton of great lessons learned that have continued to propel us forward over the last six weeks. Not to mention, our race execution as a team ended up being pretty close to flawless.
Sebring is a racetrack that Alan and I have found success at in the past, of course Max has always shown a ton of speed here with our Carrera Cup and Michelin Pilot Challenge team. Historically the Porsche 911 GT3 R is a very strong package around the bumps of Sebring. There’s no reason why the Wright Motorsports/VOLT Lighting team cannot fight for a podium finish considering the tools we have within our control.
Max Root
I’m extremely proud of all of the Wright Motorsports boys and girls and how they’ve handled adversity post-Daytona. We can carry those lessons learned and the high notes into the Twelve Hours of Sebring. Sebring is an incredibly bumpy track, it’s an amazing track and the race is tight. We’re going to focus on getting the car in the right window so that we have something to fight with at the end of the race. I’m looking forward to getting on the ground with Alan and Trent and getting the weekend started.
Source. Wright Motorsports
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