Patrick Long and Wright Motorsports rebounded from a mixed weekend last time out in Pirelli World Challenge competition, taking p3 in both races of the doubleheader at Utah Motorsports Campus in the #58 Porsche 911 GT3 R. With the twin podiums, Long regained the driver’s championship lead from Alvaro Parente, who recorded a DNF and p11 on the weekend. With three rounds remaining, Long leads Parente by 21 points, with Michael Lewis also still in the frame, 65 points off of Long’s lead. All that remains of the 2016 PWC season is a doubleheader at Sonoma Raceway September 16-18 and the season finale at Laguna Seca October 7-9.
Long had a race to remember in Saturday’s round 16, slipping as low as P8 during the 50-minute sprint race, but picked off several competitors including both McLarens, Ryan Eversley’s Acura and Johnny O’Connell’s Cadillac. Coupled with Parente’s DNF, his P3 allowed Long to significantly close the championship gap. A subsequent podium in Sunday’s relatively straightforward, caution-free sprint race would see him Long regain the driver’s lead for the first time since mid-season.
Patrick said, “A really solid weekend. It is timely after a rough Mid-Ohio, that we are putting behind us. This was about longevity, both Saturday and Sunday. Really Saturday, after getting hit by some very enthusiastic and optimistic drivers. We didn’t have a corner of the car that we did not get stuffed into. So to come back Sunday with a clean race and back it up with two podiums and the championship lead feels really good.”
Long’s next race is in the FIA WEC, when the globetrotting series visits the high altitude Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, September 1-3.
