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Photo credit: Wright Motorsports photo by Joe Jennings.

Wright Motorsports' Skeer and Kuhlman
Post Podium Finishes at Watkins Glen

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y., July 2 - Wright Motorsports drivers Elliott Skeer and Kasey Kuhlman posted podium finishes when they finished third in Round 5 last Friday and Round 6 last Saturday, respectively, of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama series at Watkins Glen International.

In Friday's race, Santiago Creel finished fourth while Kuhlman placed fifth to give Wright Motorsports three of the top-five finishers. 

Kuhlman, the defending Masters class champion, took both Masters class victories for the weekend with his Kuhlsport #15 to extend his point lead in those standings.

A third race that was postponed due to rain at NOLA Motorsports Park on April 12 was scheduled for Saturday night, but it was postponed again due to heavy rain at Watkins Glen too.

Skeer, who welcomed new marketing partners Pelican Replacement Windows and Town Porsche of Englewood, N.J., started on the pole in Friday afternoon's race. He had topped the other 25 Porsche drivers in qualifications that morning with a lap of 1:52.096 for an average speed of 109.192 miles per hour. Creel posted one of his best qualifying efforts when he qualified fourth with his UNIFIN EZCORP #60. Kuhlman was fifth and first in the Masters class. Another

teammate, John Goetz, was eighth overall and second in Masters, while the team's Michael Schein was right behind Goetz in ninth.

Goetz vaulted from eighth to fourth overall and first in the Masters class with an incredible effort at the start. Skeer dropped to second, Creel dropped from fourth to fifth, Kuhlman dropped from fifth to eighth and Schein remained ninth in the always-hectic first lap.

Goetz was still in fourth place when he crashed near the Loop working lap eight and retired for a 19th-place finish in class. Luckily he wasn't hurt.

As Skeer remained second, Creel and Kuhlman both passed Will Hardeman to push Hardeman from fourth to sixth working lap 13. That put Creel in fourth and Kuhlman in fifth place. Both were very fast, and Creel set the fastest lap of the race at that point with a 1:53.494 on lap 17. 

Skeer dropped to third just three laps from the end, but when the checkered waved three Wright Motorsports cars were in the top five and Schein was just outside the top five in seventh.

Although conditions were perfect for Friday afternoon's race, they were not good for Saturday morning's contest, as an all-day rain set in at the 3.4-mile, 11-turn road course. Skeer started on the pole again, with Creel fourth, Kuhlman fifth, Goetz seventh and Schein eighth.

At the start Skeer and Creel were among five drivers who spun in Turn 1 due to the treacherous conditions to bring out a full-course caution. Kuhlman, Schein and Goetz were able to miss the melee, and Kuhlman vaulted to second and Schein rose from eighth to fourth. The other three Wright Motorsports drivers — Goetz, Skeer and Creel — found themselves in 12th, 13th and 14th in class, respectively, for the restart.

Schein was fourth, right behind Kuhlman, when he crashed in Turn 10 working lap eight. He was able to bring the car back to the pits under its own power, but his great run was over. He ended up 15th in class in the final rundown, and the race ended under that yellow.

Kuhlman went on to finish third. It was his third overall podium finish of the year, and the third time in as many events that he's been on the podium.

Skeer worked his way back through the field to finish ninth overall and seventh in class. Creel was 13th overall and ninth in class at the end, while Goetz took the checkered in 17th overall and 12th in class. 

Skeer is now second in the overall point standings, just three points out of the lead. Kuhlman is third, Schein is fifth, Creel is eighth and Goetz is 12th. Kuhlman

leads the Masters class point standings by 28 points over Jay Patel. Goetz is tied for sixth in those standings. Wright Motorsports is tied for the lead in the team standings. 

The next event is July 9-12 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario.

For more information on Wright Motorsports, see WrightMotorsports.com and follow it on Facebook and Twitter. Information on the series can be found on imsa.com.

Driver quotes follow:

Elliott Skeer, Carlsbad, Calif.: "This was an up and down weekend. I'm happy with my early pace and with the car balance through the whole weekend. Both races were tough and not quite the results I was looking for. A lot was learned this weekend though, and I can't wait to apply it all at Mosport!"

Kasey Kuhlman, Cincinnati: "It was really a solid weekend for me. After almost a three-month layoff it took me through qualifying to get comfortable again. Two top-five finishes with an overall podium achieved my goals. I added points to the lead over those behind me and kept pace with the two in front of me. To be third in the points after three events feels great. I feel good in the car and look forward to climbing back in at Mosport in two weeks to continue the battle."

Santiago Creel, Mexico City, Mexico: "Overall it was a great weekend. I qualified fourth and ended Race 1 in fourth. That is two races in a row that I finished in the top four! I hope to keep this pace until the end of the season."

John Goetz, Weston, Conn.: "While I had high hopes for this weekend, it didn't go as planned. While I started well in the first race and managed to run in fourth for seven laps, I spun out and ended my race by clipping a guardrail. Lesson learned.

"In the second race rain, I managed to avoid the carnage at the start, but I spun just before the race went to double-yellow for the duration, so I finished back in the field. Lesson learned."

About Wright Motorsports:  

Wright Motorsports is the premier Porsche race engineering facility in Ohio and a multi-series, international racing team known for superb car preparation, expert race strategy and driver development. Located in Batavia, Ohio near Cincinnati, it is owned and directed by John Wright, a certified Porsche factory-trained

technician. As a crew chief John Wright has played a key role in winning eight driver and seven team championships in World Challenge, IMSA (ALMS) and the Grand-Am Rolex Series. Wright Motorsports won the team championship in Porsche GT3 Cup USA in 2012 and 2013. In 2014 it had four podium finishes in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. For more information see WrightMotorsports.com and follow it on Facebook and Twitter.