Batavia, Ohio (April 3, 2017) – This weekend, Wright Motorsports will head west for Round 3 of the Pirelli World Challenge Championship at the 43rd running of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Still fresh off of their podium sweep in St. Petersburg, Wright Motorsports drivers, Patrick Long and Michael Schein, look to continue their street course success at the temporary 1.968 mile, 11-turn circuit. With only two short practice sessions before Sunday’s 10:00am PST race, every second spent on track will be imperative for the drivers to get into the rhythm and the Wright Motorsports team to dial in on the setup of their Porsche 911 GT3 R’s.
For California native Patrick Long, Long Beach is very familiar territory. The Porsche factory driver, who now resides in Manhattan Beach, California, grew up watching cars take on the tight bends of the famed street course. Today, Long has earned two American Le Mans victories and countless podiums of his own on the same streets. Coming into this weekend’s event, he hopes to pad his resume with his first Long Beach win in the Pirelli World Challenge championship. After bringing his Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R to a flag-to-flag win and a third place finish in St. Petersburg, Patrick Long will enter his home event with an early two-point championship lead over Alvaro Parente. Michael Schein is eager to check off another street course as he heads west for his maiden Long Beach Grand Prix. Track time will be limited, but Schein proved his ability to adapt to street courses quickly after claiming two second place finishes during his first visit to St Petersburg. With a strong hold on second in the GTA championship points, the New Yorker looks to capitalize on his success as he hits the California streets. Round 3 at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach will take place on Sunday, April 9, at 10:00AM PST/1:00PM EST. CBS Sports Network will be providing same-day coverage of the event during a 2:00PM EST telecast. Driver Quotes: Patrick Long // No. 58 Porsche 911 GT3 R The Long Beach Grand Prix is one of those iconic events that every driver looks forward to. As a kid I wondered if I’d ever have a chance to compete there and it’s been equally special every time I’ve had the opportunity. I definitely feel confident going in that our Porsche 911 GT3 R is suited to the race track. Coming off a strong start to the season at St. Pete, we’re starting to settle into our groove and a lot of the teams will be continuing to find their pace so it should be a fun one. There’s a little bit of a different approach with this being a single race weekend and also the limited amount of track time. It’s going to be about using every single lap wisely and getting up to speed quickly. I’m also very excited to be racing at home. Having friends and family around always gives me an extra boost of morale so it makes it that much more fun to catch up with old and new faces. Michael Schein // No. 16 Porsche 911 GT3 R I’m looking forward to racing in Long Beach with the Wright Motorsports team and our Porsche 911 GT3 R. We had a successful start scoring two second place finishes in the season opener at St. Pete and I hope to build on that success after getting my first taste of racing on a true street course. Having two back to back street course rounds definitely makes it easier. The closeness of the walls is still pretty fresh in my head so that should help me get up to speed quickly. I hope to be able to fight for the win in California.