2022 Michelin Pilot Challenge Driver champions step up to WeatherTech GTD
DAYTONA, Fla., (January 24, 2023) – This weekend, the 2022 Michelin Pilot Challenge champions will make their IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship debut at the Rolex 24 At Daytona with Wright Motorsports. Alan Brynjolfsson and Trent Hindman advance to the top IMSA series, the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, racing the No. 77 77 VOLT® Lighting Porsche 911 GT3 R (type 992) with Max Root and Kevin Estre.
“We’re honored to have Alan, Trent, and the VOLT effort run with Wright for the 2023 season,” said Team Owner John Wright. “They did an incredible job in last year’s Michelin Pilot Challenge championship, and they’re off to a strong start already this season. Making the step up to the WeatherTech series and joining the Porsche family is an exciting move for them, and they have what it takes to fight for the win.”
Pre-season testing at the Roar Before the 24 took place last week, and the bright yellow Porsche lit up the track as each of the drivers cycled through to get situated with the new car. During the opening sessions, the team ran initial new-car shakedowns, going through a basic checklist of items as the drivers and engineers became acquainted with their new machinery. With Wright’s two decades of experience racing Porsche machinery, every minute was used most efficiently to prepare for the following week’s competition, the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
Unofficially, the No. 77 VOLT® Lighting Porsche will start the race from 17th place in the GTD class, one of five classes competing in the event. The GTP, LMP2, and LMP3 classes consist of varying types of prototypes while the GTD Pro and GTD classes strictly run with machinery based off of street cars from the world’s leading manufacturers. The GTD Pro class features all-professional driver lineups, while the GTD class driver lineups offer a mixture of professional and amateur-ranked lineups. The GTD class is the biggest run group, making up 40 percent of the 61-car field.
Activities for the Rolex 24 At Daytona will begin on Thursday, January 26 with the first of five practice sessions in two days. The start of the 61st Rolex 24 at Daytona begins at 1:40 PM Eastern on Saturday, January 28, concluding exactly 24 hours later on Sunday afternoon. The broadcast will air live from the wave of the green flag to the drop of the checkered flag on Peacock, NBC Universal’s streaming platform. The first hour of the race will also air live on NBC before switching to the USA Network. IMSA Radio will offer live coverage worldwide without brakes on imsaradio.com. For all event information, follow the team on social media or visit wright motorsports.com or imsa.com.
DRIVER QUOTES
Alan Brynjolfsson
This race is very different for me than anyone on the team and probably most people in the paddock. It's brand new to me, so I've got a completely different focus and perspective. I'm just looking to learn, be humble, be safe, and get more comfortable and be better. That's a hundred percent of my focus in this race. Our job and mission right now is to learn the ergonomics, the feel of the car, how it handles, and the environment.
Trent Hindman
It has been a very positive week, all things considered: Brand new car and a new team, and for VOLT, a new championship. The No. 77 moving to GTD has been a good learning experience.
It was good to get everybody through the car during the Roar. That was the main thing: Learning what each of our individual jobs are when it comes to me, Alan, Max, and Kevin, and working on executing those individual jobs as best we can. It’s really fun to see Alan in a WeatherTech series session. It has been a very long time coming and he’s found a home really quick. It's a pleasure to be a part of that process and we're still always going to be searching for more performance come the Rolex 24.
Max Root
I’m very excited to be here for my second Rolex 24. I’m happy to be with Wright Motorsports this time around, and we’re definitely learning the new car and trying to dial it in as much as possible. Spending the week before testing has been immensely helpful for our development. Now it’s just all about focusing on putting it all together and getting the drivers changes right, as well as all the other things we want to get right during the race leading up to the big weekend.
Kevin Estre
I’m very happy to be here and race another Rolex 24. It’s a new team, new car, and new teammates for me. It’s difficult to know exactly where we stand, but we definitely made some improvement during the Roar learning the car and the new tricks we have to implement in this car to be quick at Daytona. We’re definitely not where we want to be, but we’re working on it. It’s great to be with the Wright Motorsports team. It’s a program I’ve been racing against for years. Now I can see it from the inside and see how they’re so successful. We can’t wait to start the race week, hopefully with better balance of performance and a good spirit.
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