Last weekend at Road America, in addition to supporting the three K-PAX Racing McLaren 650S entries in the Pirelli World Challenge GT class, Flying Lizard Motorsports entered a fourth and separate car, the No. 45 Porsche 911 GT3 R of Andy Wilzoch. After having competed for over a decade in Porsche Club racing, Wilzoch decided to make the step up to professional competition in the Pirelli World Challenge, competing in the GTA class.

Wilzoch started race one of the double header in fifth position in class, and early race troubles for the GTA points leader Martin Fuentes, took him out of contention, automatically moving Wilzoch and the #82 of Michael McCann up to third and fourth. With an ultimate goal of getting to a podium finish in his professional racing debut, Wilzoch battled McCann throughout the entire 50 minute race. Wilzoch had fallen back a few car lengths just past the midway point in the race but fought hard to pass McCann with just 2 laps to go, earning a third place finish. Race two proved to be less eventful, with Wilzoch starting the race in fourth in the GTA class. In a race filled with attrition for the rest of the field, Wilzoch had a trouble free race and finished third in class, again landing on the GTA podium.

“I’m very satisfied with how my professional debut went,” said Wilzoch. “The team did an excellent job getting me to this point, and I had a lot of fun out there. It was a great experience and I look forward to coming back to Pirelli World Challenge later in the season.”

Wilzoch and the Lizard liveried Porsche will return to the Pirelli World Challenge later in the year, competing at Sonoma Raceway in September and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in October.

“I am very happy for Andy,” said Program Manager Darren Law. “We have been working together for over a year now and I knew he was at a point where he could race competitively in this class. Our goal this weekend was to stay out of trouble and work to try and get to a podium position. He performed well, drove a great couple of races, and brought it home on the podium both days. It’s not easy to jump into a series mid-season but he is comfortable in the Porsche 911 GT3 R, so this was beneficial. I am looking forward to his next race in a couple of months.”