After an exciting 2022 race season that saw the battle for the Fanatec GT World Challenge America championship title come down to the final race, Wright Motorsports will return in 2023 for another shot at clinching the top honors. Armed with the new No. 45 Porsche 911 GT3 R (type 992), drivers Charlie Luck and Jan Heylen will return for a second chance at the Pro/Am class title in the sports car racing series.
“Charlie and Jan make such a great pairing and with their crew, did an incredible job last year,” said Wright Motorsports team owner John Wright. “The new Porsche 911 GT3 R offers a strong package and we’re all excited to getting the season started and continue on last year’s successes. We’ve won the championship two out of the last three years, and our strength and quality of performance this year will be no different.”
After many years of working together as race car driver and coach, Luck and Heylen became co-drivers in the GT World Challenge America series in 2022, also their first year as father and son-in-law. The pairing produced a strong series debut for Luck, who had previously secured the GT America powered by AWS championship title. Starting with a weekend sweep at the Sonoma Raceway season opener, the duo won four out of 13 races. Against intense competition in the multi-class sports car racing series, they finished on the podium seven times, and in the top five for all but two rounds. Luck’s progression through the events showed the gentleman racer’s adaptability under pressure, finding a smooth groove as the season proceeded.
The drivers and team will be familiar with all of the usual tracks, starting with Sonoma Raceway continuing to host the first race of the season, March 30th to April 2nd. With the exception of the season finale at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, each race weekend will be comprised of a pair of 90-minute races, in which both drivers will each have to achieve a minimum amount of drive time and participate in a driver change during the race. Though the entry list for the 2023 season has yet to be revealed, another competitive season is expected ahead. To stay up to date, visit wrightmotorsports.com to sign up for the latest news.
DRIVER QUOTES
Charlie Luck // No. 45 Porsche 911 GT3 R
I’m really looking forward to the 2023 SRO GT World Challenge season. We will have some new competitors in the field as well as the latest edition of the new Porsche GT3 R. This will give us an opportunity to take a new machine into competition and to develop the car as we move through the year. We’ll be going to many tracks where we have experience. We all look forward to putting all that past history to work.
I’m really looking forward to my second year, sharing the driving drivers’ duties with Jan Heylen. We had tremendous success last year and look forward to taking one race at a time and executing as close to perfection as possible.
I can’t wait.
Jan Heylen // No. 45 Porsche 911 GT3 R
I’m happy to be back with Charlie for another season in GT World Challenge America. We had an amazing season last year and I can’t wait to do it all over again. I’m looking forward to the first race and see where we stack against the new competitors. We also have a new car, an extra reason to be excited about 2023, and the challenge that comes with it.
Source. Wright Motorsports
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