at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
GTSport Racing/Napleton Porsche Team Set To Continue Early-Season Momentum for Hot Wheels®, InvoicePrep, Voodoo Ride and StopTech
Jack Baldwin and Team Hot Wheels™ will be determined to continue the early-season momentum that has seen them score one victory and three top-five finishes in the year’s first four races in the new No. 68 Hot Wheels®/GTSport Racing/Napleton Porsche Cayman S in Round 5 of the Pirelli World Challenge Friday at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
Baldwin scored a flag-to-flag victory in Round 3 at Long Beach last month and backed it up with a fourth-place finish two weeks ago at Miller Motorsports Park. Baldwin and Team Hot Wheels™ also moved off to a solid start with fifth and seventh place finishes in the season-opening doubleheader in St. Petersburg in March.
“Man, this season is flying by as we are looking at Laguna and Round 5 already,” Baldwin said. “I can tell you a lot of hard work has gone into the GTSport Racing Team Hot Wheels™/InvoicePrep/Voodoo Ride Cayman to bring it up to the competitive level it is right now. I think we got the competition’s attention, especially after our big win at Long Beach, but honestly I respect the competitors so much and we are taking nothing for granted. So the hard work and focus will continue, we really are only thinking about making the car better and winning.”
The consistent early-season performance has moved Baldwin firmly into the GTS championship picture in third place with 425 points. Peter Cunningham is second with 437 points while points leader Justin Bell has 475 points.
“I really like Laguna Seca,” Baldwin said. “It's a thrill to drive and very challenging. I haven't raced here since the great IMSA Camel GT era back in the mid-80s driving the Peerless GT Camaro and the Malibu Grand Prix Mazda RX-7s in GTU. I remember putting them both on the pole but coming up short for the top of the podium. Although the track has changed somewhat all the famous parts are there and I got a lot of laps with the Pirelli Cayman Interseries during Rennsport Reunion last year.”
The No. 68 Team Hot Wheels™ Porsche is based on the popular Pirelli Cayman Interseries Caymans with modifications to meet Pirelli World Challenge GTS specifications. The World Challenge Cayman S, like all of the cars that race in the Interseries, was built by Porsche Napleton Racing (PNR), the competition and high-performance division of leading Chicago-area dealership Napleton Porsche of Westmont. In addition to owning and running the Pirelli Cayman Interseries, which has been in operation since 2009, the PNR personnel on the GTSport Racing/Team Hot Wheels™ program are among the best in the motorsports business.
“Hopefully like Long Beach, this will be another good race for GTSport Racing, Napleton Porsche and our sponsors,” Baldwin said. “Our Cayman should do well here with all the curves, the Corkscrew and the big downhill. One thing that is for sure is that we will do our best!”
Baldwin was third fastest in the first of two opening practice sessions today at Mazda Raceway, trailing only Cunningham and his Acura teammate Nick Esayian, with qualifying set for Thursday afternoon at 2:50 p.m. local time. Friday’s featured race is scheduled to start at 12:20 p.m. PDT/3:20 p.m. EDT and can be followed on live timing at world-challenge.com.
As the team did after Long Beach, the No. 68 Cayman was transported to the headquarters shop of lead team partner StopTech in Carson, California, after the most recent race.
“After Miller we headed back to the Stop Tech race shop where Andrew Ruiz spent some quality time getting our Cayman ready for Mazda Raceway this weekend,” Baldwin said. “We have a lot of great partners in this team and Stop Tech is one of the best.”
The No. 68 Team Hot Wheels/GTSport/Porsche Napleton Racing Cayman S is also supported by Napleton Porsche Motorsports, BBS, Jamestown Fish Restaurant, RaceLink, SPEEDCOM Communications, TPC, AIM, RS683 and Schnorr Art.
