Racing

Put-in-Bay Fields Team In IGT Road Racing Series

When most people think about Put-in-Bay and Road Racing the annual gathering of the Put-in-Bay Road Races comes to mind. This year, however, it took on another twist as island resident Mark Mathys returned to racing teamed up with Aaron Quinne and Wright Motorsports. Driving a Porsche Factory Built Race Car the two entered the International GT racing circuit midstream with impressive results.

Mathys acquired the GT3 CUP MR in January of 2020 after visiting the Manthey Race Shop in Nuremberg Germany. The process of learning a rear-engine car and its handling characteristics began at the Mid Ohio Sports Car Course with guidance from Hap Stiles, John Hobbs, Greg Donnelly, and legendary former F1 Driver Tommy Burns. The car was modified by Manthey Racing based at the famous Nurburgring Race track to enhance braking and downforce.

Mathys teamed up with Aaron Quine owner of Stupid Fast Tires his long-time tire distributor from Wadsworth Ohio to compete in the highly competitive International GT Race series Porsche GT3 Cup 4.0 class. Mathys and Quine alternate sprint races and split driving time in endurance races. Completing and assisting the team’s efforts is a support partnership with Wright Racing based out of Ohio & Florida. Tom Penny of Wilds Cycle & Auto Fort Myers & Lester Lopez are team crew.

Wright Motorsports To Provide Racing Support

​Wright Motorsports is a race car preparation facility and professional race team, competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, GT World Challenge America, and Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA. Amateur drivers and seasoned veterans depend on Wright Motorsports for the finest in Porsche race car preparation. Based in Batavia, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati, John Wright, and his team have worked with many world-renown drivers such as Bobby and Terry Labonte, Sebastian Bourdais, Patrick Long, Sascha Maassen, Roberto Moreno, Andy Pilgrim, and Lucas Luhr, to name just a few.

As a crew chief, John has played a key role in winning ten driver and eight-team championships in World Challenge, IMSA (ALMS), and Grand-Am.  John was also at the helm as Schumacher Racing won the 12 Hours of Sebring. Wright Motorsports drivers have earned podium finishes four times at the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, and has won back-to-back-to-back IMSA GT3 Challenge championships in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015.

Mathys & Quine finished out the 2020 season with 238 points ranked 7th out of 54 drivers in International GT Standings and number 1 in the GT3CUP 4.0 division. The season ended on a strong note after winning the sprint race at the challenging Daytona International Speedway in December.

2021 IGT Racing Season

The team is slated to begin testing next week at Sebring International Speedway with Wright Motorsports and preparing for the upcoming February 19-20-21 season opener. Shortly thereafter, the team will return to Road Atlanta where they finished with a podium finish in November. The 2021 Racing season will take racing enthusiasts to famous tracks such as COTA, Watkins Glen, Lime Rock, Virginia International Speedway, and ending in Daytona in December of 2021. The team will compete at the Mid Ohio Sports Car Course June 24th to the 27th in Lexington Ohio.