MONTEREY, CA (October 26, 2018) – Joining the Intercontinental GT Challenge competition for the first time this season, Wright Motorsports closed out the second annual California 8 Hour with a fourth place finish for the No. 911 Porsche 911 GT3 R of Dirk Werner [Germany] , Romain Dumas [France] and Fred Makowiecki [France]
Coming into a new championship with a new set of drivers, the Wright Motorsports team was prepared to adapt quickly. They did just that after topping the charts in two encouraging practice sessions, proving they were there to fight with the top contenders.
Come time for qualifying, the No. 911 recorded the fourth quickest combined time among its three drivers. Dumas was then drafted into the Pole Shootout seat, where he earned the group a tenth place starting position, just four tenths off of pole.
At the start of the race, Werner was at the controls when the No. 911 endured contact going into turn one. While the Porsche remained in top shape, the moment set them back several positions to thirteenth. This didn’t prove to be a problem, as the German was up to eighth position, when he handed the wheel off to Makowiecki. The Frenchman then fought his way up to fifth before Dumas climbed in for his first stint.
From there, the group alternated between the Porsche factory aces, allowing them each to cycle through single stints. With the help of flawless pitstops, and consistent, mistake-free driving, the No. 911 was able remain in the top five and run as high as fourth — where it ultimately took the checkered flag.
This yielded what was the best result of the season for Makowiecki, Werner and Dumas, who have been competing in the full IGTC championship under another banner.
With the book closed on their last scheduled event of the season, Wright Motorsports will return to their Batavia Ohio based shop with their focus on returning even stronger in 2019.
Driver Quotes:
Dirk Werner // Driver, No. 911 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R – “It was so close to a podium in the end. I think we should be happy because we had a clean race, but on the other hand I also know our car was faster during practice. In end we didn’t have the pace. This wasn’t what we were really capable of. It was a great experience working with Wright Motorsports. I really enjoyed my time with the team, so hopefully we can do it again.”
Romain Dumas | Driver, No. 911 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R – “At the end of the day, fourth was the best we could do. We started out with a very good performance and towards the end we lost it. We need to find an understanding of exactly why, because we definitely were stronger. It’s been an up and down season, but this is our best result of the year and we are quite happy.”
Fred Makowiecki | Driver, No. 911 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R – “Overall, I think we should be very proud because we grew all together this weekend, step by step. I have no doubt that we should’ve been fighting for a podium. The engineers, the mechanics and my teammates did an amazing job. I’m really happy and I hope we can come back and do this again.”