CJ Wilson’s new career is officially underway, following his retirement from professional baseball and now having completed his first test last week at Texas World Speedway in his new 2017 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car.
Wilson, who formally announced the news he’d be transitioning into racing full-time during Rolex 24 at Daytona race week, did a two-day test at the still active oval/road course combo track in College Station, Texas. Wilson tested one of the team’s Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsports (the team runs two in IMSA’s Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge) and then advanced into the Cup car.
Wilson got fairly close to teammate Marc Miller’s times during the test as he acclimated to both the Cup car and the Yokohama tires.
“It’s great to take another step towards my goals,” Wilson said. “We had a chance to burn through two sets of tires today and I made a lot of progress. Having Marc as my coach was incredibly helpful because we have a lot of faith in each other and communicate using the same terms. Having sat in driver debriefings for the past six years with the race team, I was able to take all the input logically and make progress each session.
“The only odd thing about the test is that nobody else was here, which was the first time I have ever been on a track completely alone, so when we did a race simulation I had to use my imagination. TWS is a really fast and bumpy track. Looking forward to getting back in the car in ten days and pick up where I left off.”
Miller added, “CJ did great job, but I expected as much. He is logical and methodical which makes him easy to help and that translated into a very quick progression along the learning curve. Like any professional athlete though he is never truly satisfied because he wants to be perfect. He took quickly to the new Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car. It is confidence inspiring and such a capable platform so that suited him well in getting up to speed. Overall, it was a successful first outing and I look forward to working with CJ this season. I expect he will have a solid debut at Sebring. He better or I’m likely fired.”
A teaser of on-board footage is below, along with a couple other social posts from the test:
A preview of @str8edgeracer's in-car from Texas World Speedway in his new @PorscheRaces @IMSA GT3 Challenge 911 #NewStartingLine pic.twitter.com/JTh0b5EyIM
— CJ Wilson Racing (@CJWilsonRacing) February 18, 2017
Battling the low sun? @str8edgeracer needs some lessons from @AriVatanen. Points lost for not driving one handed like Ari the Legend! pic.twitter.com/7rP9gXXV8t
— CJ Wilson Racing (@CJWilsonRacing) February 17, 2017
30 straight laps is about the longest distance that the GT3 cup covers since all the races are sprint format- 40-60 mins. Tires get wasted! pic.twitter.com/hxgmOTIV0D
— C.J. Wilson (@str8edgeracer) February 17, 2017
Today was really a huge step forward for my racing dreams...and when I was done with my 60 laps I didn't have to ice...what a different 🌎
— C.J. Wilson (@str8edgeracer) February 17, 2017
Test day for @str8edgeracer with his brand new @IMSA @PorscheRaces GT3 Cup Challenge 911. @marcmillershow is on hand to make him faster! pic.twitter.com/S9vQOmYGYh
— CJ Wilson Racing (@CJWilsonRacing) February 16, 2017