Wright Motorsports Enjoys Strong Sebring Opener

SEBRING, Fla., March 24 — Wright Motorsports' 2015 campaign in the IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama got off to an extremely successful start at Sebring International Raceway during twin 45-minute races last Thursday and Friday, with three of its five drivers getting overall podium finishes, a rookie posting a new track record when he topped the charts in qualifications, and another driver earning the Yokohama Hard-Charger Award.

Elliott Skeer of Carlsbad, Calif., had a truly impressive series debut, as he recorded two second-place finishes in his first appearance ever with the Batavia, Ohio-based team. He also stunned the series regulars by winning the pole during qualifications on Thursday with a new track qualifying record of 2:05.849 (106.985 miles per hour) for the 3.74-mile, 17-turn road course in Central Florida.

Wright's Michael Schein of New York City recorded the best finish of his career in this series when he placed third on Thursday. He started fourth in that race but he got third working lap nine when his teammate, Kasey Kuhlman, spun in Turn 7 while trying to avoid debris. Despite a fierce battle with Marco Cirone, Schein was able to pose for photos on the podium after Thursday's race. Schein had another excellent run in the second half of the doubleheader on Friday when he started fourth and finished in the same position.

After his spin, Kuhlman regrouped beautifully to finish fifth overall and second in the Masters division on Thursday. The Cincinnati-based driver and the defending Masters champion did even better on Friday, finishing third overall and first in the Masters division for the top class, Platinum Cup, with his Kuhlsport #15.

John Goetz of Weston, Conn, earned the Yokohama Hard-Charger Award for coming from 16th overall to 11th overall on Thursday. He was tenth in the Platinum class and sixth in that division's Masters classification. Goetz was in line for another top-10 finish in class on Friday until he fell back to 14th after the race's only restart with a little more than 3 minutes remaining. Like Skeer, he was making his first starts as a Wright Motorsports driver.

Santiago Creel of Mexico City, Mexico started ninth on Thursday and tenth on Friday. Creel stormed through the field on Friday, running in fifth position and putting pressure on the leaders, until a spin caused his retirement late in the race.

The next event is April 10-12 at NOLA Motorsports Park in Avondale, La.

Driver quotes follow:

"I think the biggest learning curve was the car itself. I'm comfortable at Sebring due to some other racing here, but I had never driven a 991 Cup for a long run. So I learned a lot about the Yokohama tires and how to use them the most efficient way possible. 

"With different cars come different styles of racecraft. I learned a lot about how to battle in Cup cars efficiently as well."

"I just needed to hit my marks and make no mistakes today [Race 2] in order to finish on the podium, since I started third. The two young guys in front were going to be hard to catch, so my goal was to stay ahead of everyone else. Mike Schein in particular, while my teammate, was where I expected to feel the pressure. Mission accomplished. The late restart was stressful so I was happy to hold on to my spot in P3. It was a good start to the season. Leaving Sebring with solid points and no car damage is very rewarding."