This Weekend in the Pirelli World Challenge
GTSport/Porsche Napleton Racing Heads to Utah Two Weeks after Long Beach Win with Hot Wheels®, InvoicePrep and Voodoo Ride
Jack Baldwin and the No. 68 Hot Wheels®/GTSport/Porsche Napleton Racing (PNR) Cayman S team will be looking to pick up right where they left off two weeks ago in victory lane at Long Beach with another win in this weekend’s Pirelli World Challenge race at Miller Motorsports Park.
The Long Beach GTS-class win for Baldwin and Team Hot Wheels™ came in just the third race for the new Pirelli World Challenge program and was a first on many fronts. Baldwin had never won at Long Beach in his accomplished career, it was the first major North American road racing victory for the Porsche Cayman S, and the first national win for PNR, GTSport Racing and additional lead sponsor partners InvoicePrep and Voodoo Ride.
“For our team GTSport Racing to win Long Beach with Napleton Porsche and deliver the first major victory in North America for the Porsche Cayman was personally very satisfying and a great team achievement,” Baldwin said. “The victory also allowed us to share the podium with our major sponsors Hot Wheels®, InvoicePrep, Voodoo Ride and StopTech, all of whom were present. To win the big one from flag to flag was a very sweet victory and one I won't forget.”
The No. 68 Hot Wheels® Cayman S should be well suited to the gargantuan Miller layout that, at its full 4.5 miles, 23-turn configuration, is the longest track in North America. Baldwin, however, will be making his first start on the track that is located just outside of Salt Lake City.
“Miller presents a special challenge for me because it's one of the very few tracks where I have never raced, so I will have to figure it out quickly, but as always I'm up for the challenge,” Baldwin said. “I think the Team Hot Wheels™ Cayman S will do well but only the lap times will tell. I know for sure we have not backed off of our focus or determination for a minute.”
Baldwin and the team barely took the time to celebrate the Long Beach win in order to prepare for this weekend’s race.
“The car was still warm when we took it to the StopTech race shop in Carson, not too far from Long Beach,” Baldwin said. “We spent long days getting the Cayman ready for Miller. StopTech's Director of Engineering Steve Ruiz, and his two sons Andrew and Steve, were instrumental in helping me deliver the car back to my main Napleton crew of Isaac, Marc and Jeff ready for action at the track.”
Hopefully the diligent preparation will pay off in Utah the same way it did at Long Beach.
“I have got to tell you, as hard as we have been working and as focused as we have been, I really believed we had what it took to win it at Long Beach,” Baldwin said. “Yes, we qualified well and the race went our way, but if it wasn't for all the hard work and team effort, we wouldn't have had the opportunity we had to bring it home on top. Although I have a good car it's our team that makes the difference.”
The No. 68 Team Hot Wheels™ Porsche is based on the successful PNR-built Pirelli Cayman Interseries Caymans with modifications to meet Pirelli World Challenge GTS specifications.
The GT/GTS Pirelli World Challenge race at Miller Motorsports Park takes place this Saturday, April 28, at 4:35 p.m. EST/2:35 p.m. MST. The race will be streamed live at World-Challengetv.com. Race fans can also tune in for tape delay television coverage on the NBC Sports Network all season. The Long Beach race airs this Sunday, April 29, at 3 p.m. EST/Noon PST.
The No. 68 Team Hot Wheels/GTSport/Porsche Napleton Racing Cayman S is also supported by Napleton Porsche Motorsports, BBS, StopTech, Jamestown Fish Restaurant, RaceLink, SPEEDCOM Communications, TPC, AIM, RS683 and Schnorr Art.
