Shift Up Now Athletes Erin Vogel, Sarah Montgomery, and Laura Hayes took home a seventh-place finish, logging their best-ever result, during race one of a World Racing League (WRL) double header weekend at Watkins Glen International (WGI) on October 18-20, 2024.
Continuing their season-long partnership and driving the No. 119 Shift Up Now by AE Victory Racing Audi R8 GT4, Vogel and Montgomery were joined for the WGI weekend by reigning WRL GTO Champion Laura Hayes. Her impressive resume in GT4 racing brought knowledge to enhance the existing expertise in the AE Victory Racing garage. Hayes is also the Pikes Peak GT4 Trophy by Yokohama turbo class champion – the fastest woman ever up Pikes Peak.
The WRL weekend at “The Glen” reflected a similar format to the season’s other events, with a full day of unofficial testing on Thursday, followed by multiple combined practice and qualifying sessions on Friday.
Thursday's test sessions gave Vogel the chance to shake down the car as the team had recently worked on refining the Audi’s setup, and were confident that the continued development would bring on-track performance improvements. Hayes also had the opportunity to become familiar with the Audi, and she got up to speed on her Yokohama tires quickly.
Vogel, Montgomery, and Hayes hit the track Friday morning for practice and qualifying on the 3.54-mile, 12-turn racetrack. Montgomery set the team's qualifying time on sticker tires in the first session after lunch, and she and the other drivers continued to dial in the race setup during the later sessions of the day.
On Saturday, Montgomery was behind the wheel for the start of the eight-hour endurance race. She took the green flag and began carving her way through the competitive field. Despite her progress being hampered slightly by multiple Code 35 periods in the first half of the race, she gained three positions in her stint and advanced to P16. When the team called her into the pits for a splash of fuel during the second Code 35, the Audi R8 was cycled back in the order.
Montgomery then continued to work her way up the timing charts before handing the AE Victory racing machine to Vogel for her mid-race stint. Vogel picked up the charge and swiftly battled the GTO class competition, tackling the famous esses and advancing several spots in the running order. By the time Hayes was preparing to take the wheel with just a few hours remaining in the race, Vogel had moved into the 12th-place spot.
Hayes wasted no time attacking the track, taking over 11th place in her first few laps. In the final three hours, she advanced to 7thplace, where she’d take the checkered flag, clinching AE Victory Racing’s highest-ever finish.
Race two began on Sunday morning, with Montgomery behind the wheel once again, this time for seven hours of competition. During her starting stint, she gained an impressive 10 positions as she charged through the field. The driver order reflected Saturday’s race to give all three drivers the opportunity to evaluate setup changes made overnight. Approximately 2.5 hours in, Vogel took over, then handed the wheel to Hayes for the finish. Hayes crossed the finish line just outside the top 10, culminating a successful 15 hours of clean racing by the AE Victory Racing drivers.
The WRL season continues next at Sebring International Raceway for the penultimate event on November 8-10, 2024. The season finale then takes place at Circuit of the Americas on December 6-8, 2024.
