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Long, Nielsen team with Wright Motorsports in IMSA GTD
Wright Motorsports will join the GT Daytona class in the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, with a Porsche 911 GT3 R driven by Patrick Long and Christina Nielsen.
David Malsher-Lopez
Edited: Jan 6, 2018, 2:42 PM
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Long has spent 15 years as Porsche’s only American factory driver, and piloted a Wright Motorsports Porsche to second and first in his last two years in Pirelli World Challenge.
Nielsen is reigning and two-time IMSA GTD champion, titles she achieved in a Scuderia Corsa-run Ferrari. However, the 25-year-old Dane has extensive Porsche experience from Carrera Cup Germany, the ADAC GT Masters, the GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East, the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge USA, and select IMSA WeatherTech Championship races in 2014.
Said team principal John Wright: “I am very pleased to have this great opportunity come together in such a short time. It is a tremendous opportunity to be heading back into the endurance racing arena with such a strong program.
“In my experience, I haven’t seen too many driver combinations better to compete for a championship then what I think we will see in Patrick Long and Christina Nielsen.
“I’m also very happy to have Patrick back for the 2018 season. Coming off this year’s championships, our momentum could not be stronger than it is now. I am looking forward to working with Christina and seeing her back behind the wheel of a Porsche. We have tried to make something happen in the past, but due to different circumstances we were never able to pull anything together. The stars have aligned to make it possible for this year and hopefully years to come.”
Long said: I am thrilled to continue my journey with Wright Motorsports for the 2018 season. We will have our work cut out for us starting the season with two of the biggest international endurance races in sports car racing, the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring, but I am confident in the group’s ability.
“Christina has been on an amazing run with her two titles over the last two years and I want to blend that momentum with our 2017 title and aim for victories right out of the box. I’m very excited to get things started at Daytona.”
Nielsen added: “I am really looking forward to being back in the IMSA WeatherTech Championship and I’m absolutely thrilled that we’ve come up with such a strong combination with Wright Motorsports and Porsche.
“For me the biggest thing is to go into 2018 without relying on any previous results. We’ll start from scratch beginning with Daytona and go from there.”
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