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Wright Motorsports' Drivers Finish on the Podium
In All Three Classes Each Day of PWC Doubleheader
At Utah Motorsports Campus;
Long Retakes Point Lead in Top Class

TOOELE, Utah, Aug. 17 - Despite the heat, thin air, strong competition and challenging track, Wright Motorsports' Patrick Long, Michael Schein and McKay Snow all finished on the podium on both Saturday and Sunday in a Pirelli World Challenge doubleheader last weekend at Utah Motorsports Campus. The two 50-minute races were part of the Grand Prix at UMC presented by Energy Solutions.

Long, of Manhattan Beach, Calif., unofficially retook the point lead in the GT class with two third-place finishes in Wright Motorsports' No. 58 Porsche 911 GT3 R, which is sponsored in part by Porsche Consulting. Although the official point standings haven't been released yet by the Sports Car Club of America, unofficially he is in the lead with 1,393 points to his closest rival's 1,372 with three races remaining in the 20-round championship.

"It was just a phenomenal weekend towards the championship," Long said. "In the end we knew the long straights at Salt Lake weren't going to favor our car, so to finish with two podiums feels almost as sweet as a victory. We were able to battle back after a tough weekend at Mid-Ohio, and that's the best way to put those emotions behind you. It's exactly the momentum we need heading into the last two race weekends at Sonoma and Laguna."

Schein, of Glen Cove, N.Y., and McKay Snow, of Lehi, Utah, finished third in the GTA and GT Cup classes, respectively, on Saturday and then bettered that with second-place finishes in their classes on Sunday.

Despite being a rookie, Schein has been on the podium in all the races he's competed in this year except for one. His third- and second-place finishes were his 12th and 13th podium finishes of the year to date.

Snow was making his Pirelli World Challenge debut on his home track. He not only finished on the podium both days, he also led 16 laps on Sunday, thoroughly impressing the railbirds at the 24-turn, 3.048-mile road course.

Long started fourth on Saturday but dropped to seventh in class shortly after the green flag dropped to avoid an accident. He made up two spots immediately on the restart on lap five with 37 minutes remaining in the race by passing a Nissan and a McLaren, and then passed another McLaren for fourth in class on lap nine with 28 minutes remaining. He nailed the podium finish down working lap 22 with about 5 minutes remaining by passing an Acura. He was only 0.676 of a second behind the second-place finisher at the checkered.

Schein had to start near the rear on Saturday due to a tire change, but he quickly passed the driver of a similar Porsche 911 GT3 R and ran in third place in the GTA class throughout the race. He cut the distance to second place from over a second early in the race to just 0.225 at the checkered.

Snow started second in the GT Cup class on Saturday but like Long he had to give up some spots initially, dropping to fifth in class. He moved into fourth on lap six and got third on the following lap, and then brought his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup home for a podium finish in his series debut.

Long started third on Sunday. A Bentley got around him initially, but Long and the driver of the Bentley both passed the polesitter on the second lap, and Long remained in third place the rest of the race. He came within one-tenth of a second to second place on lap 21, and safely banked the third-place points when the checkered waved on lap 28.

Schein started third in the GTA class on Sunday but by lap 12 he was just 0.138 of a second behind the second-place driver. They both moved up one spot when the class leader went off course working lap 22. Schein kept the pressure up in search of his seventh class victory, and was only 0.240 behind the class winner at the line.

Snow started third in the GT Cup class on Sunday but zoomed into the lead by passing two veterans at the start. He held the class lead for 16 laps until those same two veterans got him back coming out of the Attitudes. One of the vets went off course with 23 laps down and the rookie had second place and his second podium finish in less than 24 hours.

The races will be shown on the CBS Sports Network at 2 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday, Aug. 21.

The next Pirelli World Challenge doubleheader is Sept. 16-18 at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. The series' 2016 season concludes with a single race Oct. 7-9 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Salinas, Calif.

For more information on Wright Motorsports, see WrightMotorsports.com and follow it on Facebook and Twitter.

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 nine 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, 2013 and 2015. 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.

For more information on Porsche Consulting, see http://www.porsche-consulting.com/us-en/home/.

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