Adelson “Absolutely Thrilled” of Wright’s Early Customer Success

Photo: Wright Motorsports

Adam Adelson said he “couldn’t be more proud” of the re-expansion and early success of Wright Motorsports’ customer programs in SRO America, in what has marked a return to form for the Ohio-based team’s legacy established by team founder John Wright.

Adelson, the 2024 GT World Challenge America powered by AWS Pro class champion, took over ownership of the team during that off-season following John Wright’s retirement from full-time racing, and has since seen new programs in GTWC America and GT America in addition to his existing IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD program.

Reigning Porsche Carrera Cup North America champion Ryan Yardley teamed with Dave Musial Jr. for a runner-up Pro-Am class finish in last month’s GTWC America season opener at Sonoma Raceway, a weekend that also saw Musial Sr. claim a third place finish in the second GT America powered by AWS race.

The team, led by longtime Wright engineer Bobby Viglione, will field a total of four Porsche 911 GT3 R Evos in this weekend’s SRO America event at Circuit of The Americas, following the addition of a second GT America entry for Jon Manship.

“I’m absolutely thrilled,” said Adelson. “Historically, Wright Motorsports has been considered one of the highest caliber GTD teams in IMSA and GT3 teams in North American racing.

“At Wright Motorsports, we have championships in every series that a Porsche can race in.

“It was my prerogative to bring Wright Motorsports back up to the level of involvement in motorsport that it had several years ago, before John Wright decided to downsize and focus a little more on his home and family life.

“To see all of the employees and contractors who wanted to jump at the opportunity to come back and work for us, now that we have programs for them… to see the enthusiasm of potential customers and eventually the customers that are now part of our team, and how happy and excited they are to be able to race with us.

Adelson was in attendance for the team’s first big weekend in the expanded customer racing role that also includes a second Porsche in GTWC America for Therese Lahlouh and Thomas Merrill.

“To get two out of four possible podiums over at our first SRO race weekend fielding three GT3 cars, I really couldn’t be prouder,” he said.

“The goal is to always just keep pushing to improve in every aspect of how we operate. And I think I’m really hopeful to have a lot more success with our customer programs later this year.”

Adelson: “I’m Just Trying to Be Like a Sponge and Soak Everything I Can In”

The 29-year-old, son of the late casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam Adelson, said he’s begun to thrive in his new dual-role environment in motorsports after initially starting off 100 percent focused on the driving front.

“The past year has just been a massive learning experience for me,” he said. “I’m a mechanical engineer by education and by trade, so I’m not a businessman.

“I know that was one of John Wright’s favorite lines. He always said, ‘Hey, I’m not a businessman. I’m not an entrepreneur. I’m a mechanic.’

“And that’s the way that he ran the business and I think something that both of us from our trades learned is just how to solve problems and ultimately that’s 99 percent of running a business.

“It’s just learning what problems there are to solve. What are your assumptions? What are your boundary conditions? What are your variables?

“Just being able to rely on the massive amount of experience I have with my employees, other people who’ve been at Wright for longer than I’ve been racing.

“We’ve developed a really great mutual respect for each other within the organization. I think they saw how passionate I was and they saw my vision for the team and how much I wanted not only to succeed with my own racing program but for the team to be super successful itself.

“It just created a really great symbiotic relationship. I’m just trying to be like a sponge [and] soak in everything I can.”

When asked if he’s been surprised of any elements as a team owner, Adelson said it’s been his interaction with his direct competitors and series’ officials.

“Something that was a little bit odd for me were all the intra-team relations, working and communicating with other team owners and series officials, not from the perspective of a driver, but from the perspective of a team owner,” he said.

“When I go to the race track, I try to not completely isolate but just remain as singularly focused as I can. How do I drive the best I possibly can? And I don’t want anything else to bother me or be on my mind.

“Now there’s a dichotomy of needing to be a leader and a figurehead for the team. So, I am also focusing on that.

“I would say just finding the balance between the two when to put my team owner hat on and when to take that off and put my driver hat back on.

“But I feel like I’ve gotten in a really good rhythm, and my team are super supportive and in cultivating the environment I need to do that.”

Adelson: “Important” to Have Porsche Single-Make, GT4 Programs in Future

While currently focused exclusively on GT3 racing, Adelson said it would make sense for Wright to return to GT4 and Porsche single-make competition in the future as well.

“We’re looking at all avenues,” he said. “What makes most sense for us?

“I think the reason why we went with purely GT3 customers is just to play to our most recent experience and successes. We’ve been largely focused on GT3 cars.

“But it’s important for us to have [Porsche] Cup car programs, potentially as well GT4 programs.

“It’s just a matter of finding the right customers to put deals together and doing what’s best for the growth and expansion of the business.”

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