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GT World Challenge America

Heylen Looking to ‘Maintain Course’ in Pro-Am Points Lead

Wright Motorsports due looking to pad Pro-Am points lead heading into final three-round stretch of season…

Photo: Halston Pitman/Wright Motorsports

Jan Heylen said he and co-driver Fred Poordad will be looking to “maintain our course” this weekend at Watkins Glen, despite having a commanding Pro-Am lead in the Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS championship.

The Wright Motorsports duo enter the fifth round of the season with a 67-point advantage over the No. 93 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3 Evo of Taylor Hagler in the class that’s been largely controlled by the No. 20 Porsche 911 GT3 R so far this season.

While having three class wins, Heylen and Poordad have been on the podium in all eight races to date.

“I’m looking forward to going to Watkins Glen,” said Heylen. “We’re coming off a good weekend at Road America and finally have a healthy points lead.

“We just need to maintain our course, be consistent, and not take too many risks.

“If we can do that, we should be in a strong place to finish the season leading the class.

“Watkins Glen is a fun track in a GT3 R, with its high-speed corners, and with all the downforce. Fred hasn’t been there in a few years, and after a good test, we’re excited to get the weekend started.”

A total of 150 points are still up for grabs in the remaining three rounds, including the double-points paying Indianapolis event that will see GTWC America competitors score points at the three-hour mark of the Indianapolis 8 Hour.

Up until the Road America event, Heylen and Poordad’s closest Pro-Am class competitors were George Kurtz and Colin Braun in the No. 04 DXDT Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, which missed the last round and is due to be absent for the next two races due to an injury by Kurtz.

A total of ten Pro-Am cars are entered for this weekend, despite Kurtz and Braun’s absence.

“It’s crunch time now with three races in the span of a month,” said Poordad. “Time to perform and have some fun!

“I’m looking forward to the Glen. It’s a beautiful track and environment with a lot of history. It’s also a challenging track. I’m confident Wright Motorsports will give us a great car and we need to execute.”

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

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