Christina Nielsen’s race at the Rolex 24 at Daytona was part of one of the most compelling stories that developed over the entire event weekend. In her first outing with Wright Motorsports, the two-time Champion and her co-drivers Patrick Long, Robert Renauer and Mathieu Jaminet fought for GTD class points harder than most during the most grueling race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.
Just before the start of Saturday’s 24-hour race, the No. 58 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R was spun and crashed into a barrier. The car sustained damage that cost the team two hours of race time, during which the crew worked tirelessly to repair the Porsche back to fighting form as the minutes ticked by. Though Wright then had to join the race from last position, they spent the next 22 hours racing as if they were competing for the win. Christina laid down some of the fastest laps in her class during her overnight stints. The resilient team produced a clean, consistent race without any further incidents and was able to complete the race to earn valuable series points.
“Of course, the race results were disappointing and not the Rolex 24 Hours we were hoping for,” lamented Nielsen. “You always expect something like this to happen to someone else, but this weekend it happened to us — but all we can do is move on. The team did a great job at getting the car back on track, even though it was quite bent up. We did the most with what we had, and we completed a strong run for 22 hours. Even though we were out of contention for the race, it was still important to collect points for the championship and use the time to get more familiar with the car. We got all the feedback we could throughout the different conditions we raced in.
“Overall, I was very happy we did finish,” said Nielsen. “I think it’s important to never give up and follow through, which we did, and it’s also why fans voted for Wright Motorsports to win IMSA Radio’s ‘Spirit of the Race’ award. I look forward to Sebring — that track has always been good to me. As a racer, when you have a bad race, all you want is a chance to make a comeback.”
