Shift Up Now Athlete Ayla Agren will compete at VIRginia International Raceway (VIR) with Round 3 Racing (R3R), driving the No. 701 Cooper Tires Porsche Cayman in round eight of the World Racing League on September 2-4, 2022.
Agren’s various racing accolades include an F1600 championship in 2014 - only her second year in the series - and extensive experience in the Road to Indy program, competing in USF2000.
As part of the partnership with Shift Up Now, Round 3 Racing and Hagerty, the Norwegian Swede driver will team up with another Shift Up Now Athlete, Loni Unser, and Zack Ping to race on the 3.27-mile, 17-turn road course in Alton, VA. No stranger to VIR, Agren has run four races there in the F1600 racing series, earning a pole position, a podium and three top-five finishes.
"I am thrilled and super excited to be racing with R3R at VIR," said Agren. ”A massive thank you to Shift Up Now for creating this opportunity, together with R3R. Last time I raced at VIR was in my F1600 championship season. It has been a while but I have some good memories from this track, and I’m very much looking forward to racing there again."
Agren marks the eighth Shift Up Now driver to join the R3R team since the partnership began in 2019. In addition to Unser and Agren, Sarah Montgomery races in the No. 401 Hagerty Motorsports car, and Hannah Grisham co-drives the No. 605 Porsche Boxter.
R3R team owner and father of three daughters, Brad McCall, says the team is driven to continue supporting females in the motorsport industry.
"We're very excited to welcome Ayla and continue to expand our partnership with Shift Up Now," said McCall. "A few years ago, Pippa (Mann) and I had a vision for this partnership, and I feel like we're right on track. R3R is committed to the growth of women in motorsport and providing a platform to help springboard talented racers to the next level.”
Two other Shift Up Now drivers will also compete at VIR alongside Agren, Unser, Montgomery and Grisham. Pippa Mann will pilot the No. 770 Monoflo International car with teammates Evan Hinkle and Tillman Schmid, and Laura Hayes will drive the No. 111 Thunder Bunny Racing car.
The World Racing League competitors will hit the track at VIR on Friday, September 2, 2022 for practice and qualifying. Saturday and Sunday will feature back-to-back, eight-hour endurance races. For more information about the event, visit www.RaceWRL.com.
