Hindman: Wright Already Feeling Like “Second Home”

Photo: Wright Motorsports

Trent Hindman says he’s felt like Wright Motorsports has already become his “second home” in what’s been an unexpected season-long campaign with the Porsche GT Daytona squad.

The 2019 GTD class champion received a late call up to fill in for the injured Ryan Hardwick at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring before being drafted into the Ohio-based team’s full-season lineup beginning at the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.

While missing the Mid-Ohio round and thus being off-sequence to full-time co-driver Patrick Long on points, Hindman said he’s perfectly fine in playing a supporting role to the Porsche factory driver and the team’s title pursuit.

“Already from the get-go in Daytona, even on that short notice being called up by the team to go and drive, it felt like a second home,” Hindman told Sportscar365.

“Between Pat [Long], Jan [Heylen], Klaus [Bachler], Bobby [Viglione, technical director], John Wright and Ryan [Hardwick]… all those guys trying to get me up to speed on the way they do things and how to drive a 911 – because I don’t have a lot of time in 911s – that was huge.

“Their input is still huge and absolutely something I need.

“I’d like to think that it’s something we can continue doing as more than just a fill-in for this year, but we’ll see what happens.”

Long currently sits fifth in the GTD title race entering this weekend’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship round at Road America.

“At the end of the day, the number one concern is till Pat,” Hindman said. “He’s till in the championship hunt. He can still get it done.

“We’ve got five rounds to go: we’ve got the pace and the team around us.

“We just need a bit of luck to go our way. I think as long as we can keep doing what we’re doing, the results are going to come and he’s going to be in the thick of the championship fight.”

Hindman said he’s been able to use his diverse background to be able to come to grips with the Porsche 911 GT3 R in a relatively short period of time.

“I’ve been saying this for a long time, just because I’ve been lucky to go back and forth between so many different platforms of cars over the last couple of years… some of it’s good and some might not be so good,” he said.

“The 911 is certainly different. It’s got two pedals that I’m going to use and a wheel, and it’s my job to figure it out. No excuses, no ‘oh, it’s a 911, it’s a totally different platform’.

“Yeah it is true, but it’s one of the best teams in the paddock, if not the best.

“Unbelievable guys driving the car. It’s up to me to get to their level and figure it out, but there’s no reason why I can’t. that was my mentality for it.”

Hindman Set for Triple Duty Weekends

The 25-year-old is set for two busy weekends in particular later this year where he will be pulling triple-duty between the WeatherTech Championship and full-season Michelin Pilot Challenge and IMSA Prototype Challenge commitments with Volt Racing by Archangel in an Aston Martin Vantage GT4 and Ligier JS P320 Nissan LMP3 car, respectively. 

“There’s going to be two weekends between Petit Le Mans and VIR where it’s three in the same weekend, but it’s something that I’ve done before,” he said. “So I’m not too worried about it.

“I’ve had enough time now, between all three cars, to where if I can’t get out of one and into another, if it’s [not] pretty seamless by this point, then maybe I’ve got to do some re-evaluating on my end.

“Every single person on these two teams – Archangel Motorsports and Wright Motorsports – have been unbelievably accommodating in making that transition happen.

“Especially with timing, with how tight these schedules are and ‘how tight the schedules are going to be at those two rounds.

“They’re doing nothing but helping me in making it happen. That’s the biggest thing. Just having the right group of people around.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John