INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., (September 23, 2024) – Sunday evening at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Wright Motorsports celebrated a win that was a long time coming for the No. 120 Porsche 911 GT3 R of Adam Adelson, Elliott Skeer, and Jan Heylen. The win in the inaugural Battle on the Bricks endurance race marked the first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship win for Adelson and Skeer. The successful result and consistent performance during the race, rockets the team up from 13th to fourth in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup, the endurance championship within the full-season IMSA WeatherTech championship. One race remains in the season, the ten-hour Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, on October 12.
“I couldn’t be prouder of Adam, Elliott, Jan, and the entire team,” said Team Owner John Wright. “This win was incredibly special. To see Adam and Elliott grow as co-drivers has been fun to watch. The energy they bring to the team is infectious, and it’s great to see how they continue to improve with each lap in the Wright-prepared Porsche. The team did a heck of a job for them, and days like Sunday are what it’s all about.”
Adelson started the six-hour endurance race from 14th position, taking the green flag under clear conditions as the 56-car field dove into turn one. Despite the dicey start for other cars in the large field, the IMSA rookie immediately got to work to make his first of many passes during the race. Just 15 minutes into the race, Adelson expertly avoided a spinning car ahead, continuing on as the skies opened on the iconic circuit. Wright Motorsports was one of several teams to put rain tires on during the downpour. The call was perfectly timed ahead of a lengthy series of cautions as various cars spun on track. Adelson drove swiftly and safely, navigating his way up to an impressive fifth place in class, aided by skilled strategy calls from the team on the pit box.
The No. 120 Porsche 911 GT3 R pitted with one hour and roughly 30 minutes complete, taking a full-service pit stop and driver change to Jan Heylen. The Porsche expert wasted no time surging to the class lead, enjoying the final wet laps before giving the car back to Skeer an hour later.
Skeer turned his first laps as the race neared the halfway point, starting the race on slick tires as the track started to develop a dry line. He made it to the lead with three hours remaining, earning valuable points for the Michelin Endurance Cup. Skeer put on his own show during his run, battling with veteran Andy Lally for the class lead. He held the lead until it was time to hand the car back to Heylen for the final push to the checkered flag.
Heylen resumed the race with just over an hour remaining and drove through to the finish line, earning the team another win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Ohio-based team will return to the track in one week’s time for the Intercontinental GT Challenge’s Indy 8 Hour. The eight-hour endurance event concludes the GT World Challenge America championship, which Wright Motorsports is leading. Visit gtworldchallenge.com for more information.
DRIVER QUOTES
Adam Adelson
What an incredible race. We came here trying to race and perform the best we could, gather some data for the race we’re going to participate at in a couple of weeks. It’s almost unfathomable to me. It still doesn’t feel real. To come into IMSA, and in my first season, my second ever in GT3, to be able to drive the way I did today and to be able to hand it off to the best two co-drivers in the paddock… I’m at a loss for words. I’m so grateful and this is amazing.
Elliott Skeer
This is the best day of my life. To win here with a Porsche in IMSA, with Wright and Adam. We get to kiss the bricks. It’s a long time coming but we’re here. I’ve been waiting for this moment for a while.
Jan Heylen
This was a really cool race. It was a lot of fun out there with the amount of traffic. Rain or dry, you name it, we had all of it. I really enjoyed it. It was good job by the whole team and all the drivers. I’m really happy for the team and for Adam and Elliott. We made all the right calls today. Early on, we pitted a little early for the rain tires and had to come back in. But at the end, we had really good pit stops. We had good calls on the wall, good strategy, and that last stop was really hot by the pit crew.
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