What a fantastic few weeks for Adam Adelson and Elliot Skeer. As if the past few years weren’t crazy enough….
Adelson and Skeer as a partnership have ascended the sports car racing ladder rapidly, and with success along the way. A couple of years in Pirelli GT4 America aided in their development as a racing duo. In 2023 they expanded to GT3 in Fanatec GT World Challenge America, and longer GT4 races in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge.
In 2024, they jumped into the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Challenge GTD fire with Wright Motorsports. The good results came quickly, with podium finishes at Sebring and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. The middle of the season? Well…
The same was true in GT World Challenge. Strong results at the start, but the middle of the season was not as expected as DXDT Racing went on a run in the Pro class. But in both series, it came together at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. With Jan Heylen, the pair took their first victory in GTD at the Battle on the Bricks six-hour WeatherTech Championship race. Two weeks later, with the aid of WeatherTech Championship GTD PRO leader and Porsche factory ace Laurin Heinrich, they won the GT World Challenge America Pro class in the Indy 8 Hour, barely missing the overall victory due to a pitstop penalty, and claimed the GTWCA Pro class championship.
“I’m so insanely proud of this result,” said Adelson after the Indy 8 Hour. “I’m really happy with my drive. Elliott drove incredibly, making the pass that needed to happen, and so did Laurin. This is a culmination of the last four years of dedication and hard work. I couldn’t be more proud. This is the most incredible accomplishment to be able to win at Indy two times in a row, two weeks apart. To be able to go and kiss the bricks again is the most special thing.”
Two weeks earlier, they claimed victory in the six-hour Battle on the Bricks, thanks in large part to Adelson’s opening stint that took the Wright Motorsports No. 120 Porsche 911 GT3 R from 15th in GTD to the top five. Heylen took it to the front, Skeer kept it there, and Heylen polished it off. Considering the conditions that went from dry to crazy wet in the first part of the race, it was an impressive accomplishment.
“Adam was definitely in the most changing conditions out there, and ultimately he did an unbelievable job driving through the field in the middle of the rain and chaos to put us in a strong position,” said Skeer. “Then it became the job of both Jan and myself just to minimize any losses.”
Until that point, Indy had not been a particularly happy place for the duo. Three championships had eluded them in SRO finales at the track. To have not only their first IMSA win come at IMS, but to secure their first championship, was a fantastic double.
“First win at Indy is absolutely incredible,” said Adelson after the IMSA victory. “I’ve lost three championships here over the last two years in different racing series, and Elliot asked me before this weekend if I thought this was going to be an emotional one and I said, ‘No, we are here to practice. We are here to learn. We are here to race and just improve for what’s to come in the future.’
“Little did we know that we’d both be walking away with our first IMSA win at Indianapolis, a place which has treated us so poorly in the past… it’s just absolutely incredible.”
Adelson is the gentleman racer in the equation, but has proven his skill such that the FIA no longer considers him a Bronze driver. Skeer has had his sights set on a career as a professional racer from his days racing Spec Miata, and has earned the position with aplomb.
“I’ve been putting in a tremendous amount of work,” said Adelson. “Elliot’s prepared to race in IMSA pretty much his whole life, so I knew he was going to be ready. For me, I felt like I’ve really developed a strong understanding of the sport in a really short time, largely due to Elliot and surrounding myself with the right people, and spending a lot of time on the simulators, watching countless hours of old races and studying and taking notes. So a strong start [to the IMSA season] was very welcome, but not a major surprise.”
But races that followed didn’t bring the results that the early season promised. In the WeatherTech Championship GTD field, it was a little tougher than they perhaps expected, and sharper attention was required.
“I really put a focus on making sure I was driving at the limit, not just 70 percent of the corners or 70 percent of a certain corner, but at every single point, every single brake zone, every single corner, entry, apex … being at the limit, everywhere. And that level of focus and attentiveness to making the car do what I want has really brought the additional pace,” said Adelson.
For Skeer, it’s been an affirmation – a season of proving his ability against drivers he idolized. Skeer has climbed the ladder from Spec Miata to Mazda MX-5 Cup and on to Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge, where he was the 2015 champ. He’s found that success in one style of GT3 racing doesn’t necessarily translate easily to another.
“It’s obviously been a steep learning curve at times. [WeatherTech Championship GTD] is definitely a different playground to other series out there,” Skeer said. “At the same time, it’s been, personally, an amazing year, just to be able to confirm my own belief in racing against that level of drivers directly, one to one – the ones you always watch on TV, and be like, ‘Oh no, I can’t compete against them.’ So that’s been a very cool thing to personally learn this year in IMSA.
“It is a different battleground. It’s much more limited on track time compared to some of the other series we’ve been in. So different priorities become apparent, different skill sets are needed to really maximize how you go across one of those weekends. But ultimately, it’s been the most incredible learning year of my career. It’s been confidence-building.”
The duo missed the round at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, but still head into the Motul Petit Le Mans finale ninth in the GTD championship standings. With Hyelen, they’re fourth in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup standings, with a real shot at the title. It will be the three of them in the No. 120 Porsche again at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, looking for one more shot at glory to wrap up the season.