WATKINS GLEN, NY (JULY 1, 2018) – This year’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen saw the No. 58 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R battle amongst the top-five GTD-class competitors in sweltering weather conditions. Unfortunately, that promising run ended with a ninth place finish, following a late-race incident, far outside of the group’s control.
After taking off from his eighth place starting slot, Long kept it smooth and consistent during what was a caution-induced start od the race. He did a single stint before passing the controls off to Nielsen in eighth place.
Following a minor setback during the driver change, Nielsen reentered the field in fifteenth place— which proved to be no challenge for the Dane. Nielsen spent the next two hours dicing it out amongst a tight GTD field. Throughout her double-stint, she gained ten positions and drove the No. 58 Porsche as high as fifth place before handing the Porsche off to Renauer.
Once at the wheel, Renauer was in seventh place and ready to make his charge. The German began picking off his competitors, one-by-one, until he found the No. 58 Porsche 911 GT3 R in the GTD lead. Renauer led the race for seven laps, before his double-stint came to an end and Long was called up to finish the race.
Upon reentering, Long was having a great run amongst the top five when things suddenly went south. With 12-minutes remaining, a lapped GTD competitor went wide going into Turn 1, pushing the No. 58 into the gravel. Long continued, but as at this point, the damage was done and the Porsche had been sent back to ninth, where the group ultimately finished the race.
It will be a quick turnaround for Wright Motorsports as they look to redeem themselves for Round 6 of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, next week at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
Driver Comments:
Patrick Long // Driver, No. 58 Porsche Consulting/Porsche Digital Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R – “We were looking good for a solid top five during the final thirty minutes of the race, but unfortunately a lapped down car decided to reenter the racing line and push us off course. It was such a high speed section that the pickup was immense and positions were lost. That was a very tough way to end what was a great day and perfect race for the whole organization at Wright Motorsports.”
Christina Nielsen // Driver, No. 58 Porsche Consulting/Porsche Digital Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R – “This weekend’s result didn’t reflect our performance or effort. The team did a really good job and the drivers performed well. By now, it’s clear we have a performance disadvantage that is out of our hands, but we made the most of the situation. It’s frustrating to leave the weekend with ninth place instead of what could have been a fourth-place finish because we got run wide by a competitor who was a lap down. It’s another weekend to learn and move on from. The momentum we have as a team is pretty good so I’m very happy in that sense. It’s a tough situation with our disadvantage. It’s an internal factor that’s hard for us to influence. Everyone did a really good job in terms of what we were in control of.”
Robert Renauer // Driver, No. 58 Porsche Consulting/Porsche Digital Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R – “Overall I would say it was a very good race for us. In the end we were fighting for fourth, but we lost it because of a decision made by a lapped car. Our car was great, but unfortunately we didn’t have the luck we needed again this weekend. Fourth was very realistic, so we’re very disappointed with ninth. I know the team is very excited for CTMP, so I’m wishing them good luck for next week.”
