Shift Up Now Athletes Erin Vogel, Sarah Montgomery, Hannah Grisham, Laura Hayes, Pippa Mann, and Loni Unser competed for four different teams, in four different race cars, and across multiple classes at the World Racing League season finale at Circuit of the Americas. Hayes became the first Shift Up Now Athlete to win a National Championship in the top GTO class.
This race marked the debut appearance of the new Shift Up Now by AE Victory Racing team, run by Erin Vogel. The team owner and driver brought her previously retired 2018 Audi R8 LMS GT4 car to WRL racing for the first time, to drive alongside Heart of Racing GT4 America race winner Hannah Grisham, and Shift Up Now Foundation Grantee Sarah Montgomery. Supported by Shift Up Now partner Bell Techlogix and TeamOne Logistics, the new team was one of three GTO programs with Shift Up Now Athletes all running on Yokohama tires.
Hayes was also competing in the GTO class in the No. 111 Toyota Supra GT4 for Thunder Bunny Racing, coming into the weekend with a narrow lead in the National Championship standings. Mann was back behind the wheel of the No. 888 Imperial Bancorp Aston Martin GT4 with TLM Racing, also in GTO.
In the GP1 class, Loni Unser moved to the No. 702 Team Cooper Tire Porsche Cayman to drive alongside Round 3 Racing team owners Buz and Brad McCall.
On Thursday, Max Track Time provided the opportunity for an additional test day before the official race weekend started, and all three of the GTO class entries featuring Shift Up Now Athletes elected to take part in this additional test day to prepare for qualifying on Friday. Unfortunately for these teams, the morning was rained out and the afternoon provided only a few hours of dry track, so the opportunity to work through a full testing program was curtailed.
Friday marked the official start of the WRL race weekend. Conditions for practice and qualifying were cool and dry, but as the day went on sunshine increased track temps and made for slower lap times across the board.
Driving on Yokohama Tires, the AE Victory Racing team ran top-15 times and felt good about their blue and red Audi’s handling before encountering an unexpected issue in tech. Despite the issue being resolved at 5pm, their lap times were deleted, putting them at the back of the field for the start of race one.
Hayes qualified the purple TBR Toyota Supra in fifth place, giving her a starting position on the inside of the third row for Saturday’s race. Meanwhile, the bright green TLM Racing Imperial Bancorp Aston Martin was battling handling issues and qualified in 20th place in the 38 car GTO field, with both Mann and her team-mate Troy Ermish setting equal lap times in two different sessions.
In the GP1 class, the 701 Cayman qualified in sixth place.
Saturday’s eight-hour race began at 8:00 a.m. with ideal track conditions, marked by cool temperatures and under cloudy skies. Vogel and Hayes were behind the wheel to start in their cars.
The GTO field had a mostly clean start, apart from the typical turn-one traffic jam on the 2.3- mile, 19-turn track at COTA. Hayes moved into the top three early in the race and the TLM Racing team advanced to the top ten. Mann drove a double stint, plus a splash-and-go pit stop to bring the Aston Martin GT4 home in P8, earning the fourth consecutive top-ten finish for the team. Meanwhile, the AE Victory Racing car turned heads by making up 25 positions and finishing P12.
The No. 702 Team Cooper Tire car moved up to P3 in the GP1 class. After an extended pit- stop, Unser took the wheel for the third stint. Unfortunately, the engine seized one hour into her double stint, ending the weekend for the team.
When the checkered flag fell, Hayes and her Thunder Bunny Racing team finished P4 in the GTO class, securing the National Championship in addition to their previously buttoned-up Eastern Championship. This would make Hayes the first Shift Up Now Athlete to win the National Championship in the top class, and the third Shift Up Now Championship of the 2023 season won on Yokohama tires.
“From a team that began as a group of friends in 2016, with a Nissan 350Z nicknamed the “Thunder Bunny” and working out of a high school automotive shop, I am so proud of how far we have come as a team," said Hayes. "In 2021 we won our first WRL GTO race with a BMW M2cs Racing that we modified ourselves to create a competitive car in the class. Last year we moved to our own shop in Greenville, SC, and this year, with support from our partners, we invested in the Toyota Supra GT4 platform. We’ve stood on the podium many times this season and won races, but winning the Championship is still sinking in. Thank you to everyone who helped us achieve this Victory, and congratulations to all of the other Championship winning teams, and competitors. We can’t wait to be back in 2024!"
On Sunday, the second eight-hour endurance race began at 8:00 a.m., once again under cool conditions. However, a bright sunrise made visibility a challenge during the first hour of competition.
Mann was behind the wheel at the start in the No. 888 Imperial Bancorp Aston Martin, driving a triple stint during which she would advance from P16 to P8. As the team continued their run inside the top ten, Mann’s team-mate Ermish was hit by another car at the apex of turn 11, a severe enough impact that the team decided to pit to assess the damage. However, they were able to continue, and, after a bad-tempered race throughout the field, penalties were handed out to cars ahead in the order such that the No. 888 was classified in eighth position for the second day running.
For day two, and the final race of the WRL season, Hayes gave the honor of starting the race in the championship-winning No. 111 car to her teammates. Unfortunately, their first mechanical issue of the season meant the TBR car had to retire from the race, and end their season early.
In the AE Victory Racing machine, Grisham started the car, but had to pit after the first pace lap. She reentered the racetrack on the second pace lap in P43, just between the GTU and the GP field, then proceeded to drive her way inside the top ten overall in the next two hours. Through pit stops, driver changes with Montgomery and Vogel, and a new set of Yokohama tires, the team held onto their top-ten position. Unfortunately, in hour five they became the second Shift Up Now car to experience contact during the Sunday race, and the damage meant the blue and red Bell Techlogix supported Audi R8 had to go to the garage area for repairs. The team worked quickly to get the car back on track, and they were able to return to competition to complete the second race and close out their debut weekend successfully on track.
“We’re so proud to have shown competitive, top-ten pace in the top GT class on our debut race weekend, and to have taken the checkered flag two races in a row,” said Vogel. “I’m incredibly proud of my teammates, our crew, and our sponsors and partners for helping us make such a good showing on our first outing.
“Sarah and Hannah both drove perfect stints all weekend long, and the crew made flawless pit stops throughout both races. Thank you to Bell Techlogix, TeamOne Logistics, Yokohama, and Sabelt for putting your faith in us, making us fast and keeping us safe in our Audi R8 LMS GT4. We know we’ll get even stronger as a team with more time under our belt, and I’m very excited for the great things we’ll accomplish together in 2024 and beyond.”
The No. 702 Team Cooper Tire car moved up to P3 in the GP1 class. After an extended pit- stop, Unser took the wheel for the third stint. Unfortunately, the engine seized one hour into her double stint, ending the weekend for the team.
When the checkered flag fell, Hayes and her Thunder Bunny Racing team finished P4 in the GTO class, securing the National Championship in addition to their previously buttoned-up Eastern Championship. This would make Hayes the first Shift Up Now Athlete to win the National Championship in the top class, and the third Shift Up Now Championship of the 2023 season won on Yokohama tires.
On Sunday, the second eight-hour endurance race began at 8:00 a.m., once again under cool conditions. However, a bright sunrise made visibility a challenge during the first hour of competition.
Mann was behind the wheel at the start in the No. 888 Imperial Bancorp Aston Martin, driving a triple stint during which she would advance from P16 to P8. As the team continued their run inside the top ten, Mann’s team-mate Ermish was hit by another car at the apex of turn 11, a severe enough impact that the team decided to pit to assess the damage. However, they were able to continue, and, after a bad-tempered race throughout the field, penalties were handed out to cars ahead in the order such that the No. 888 was classified in eighth position for the second day running.
For day two, and the final race of the WRL season, Hayes gave the honor of starting the race in the championship-winning No. 111 car to her teammates. Unfortunately, their first mechanical issue of the season meant the TBR car had to retire from the race, and end their season early.
In the AE Victory Racing machine, Grisham started the car, but had to pit after the first pace lap. She reentered the racetrack on the second pace lap in P43, just between the GTU and the GP field, then proceeded to drive her way inside the top ten overall in the next two hours. Through pit stops, driver changes with Montgomery and Vogel, and a new set of Yokohama tires, the team held onto their top-ten position. Unfortunately, in hour five they became the second Shift Up Now car to experience contact during the Sunday race, and the damage meant the blue and red Bell Techlogix supported Audi R8 had to go to the garage area for repairs. The team worked quickly to get the car back on track, and they were able to return to competition to complete the second race and close out their debut weekend successfully on track.
“We’re so proud to have shown competitive, top-ten pace in the top GT class on our debut race weekend, and to have taken the checkered flag two races in a row,” said Vogel. “I’m incredibly proud of my teammates, our crew, and our sponsors and partners for helping us make such a good showing on our first outing.
“Sarah and Hannah both drove perfect stints all weekend long, and the crew made flawless pit stops throughout both races. Thank you to Bell Techlogix, TeamOne Logistics, Yokohama, and Sabelt for putting your faith in us, making us fast and keeping us safe in our Audi R8 LMS GT4. We know we’ll get even stronger as a team with more time under our belt, and I’m very excited for the great things we’ll accomplish together in 2024 and beyond.”
