Top Ten Finish for Freiberg in Porsche Carrera Cup Season Opener at Sebring

Shift Up Now Athletes Ashley Freiberg and Sabré Cook opened up the 2025 Porsche Carrera Cup North America season at Sebring International Raceway on March 12-15, 2025, with Freiberg earning a top-ten finish in her series debut.

As a lead-in to the Mobil1 12 Hours of Sebring race weekend, the Porsche Cup cars first hit the track on Wednesday for practice. Driving the No. 22 “Be Your Own Hero” livery for Kellymoss Racing, Freiberg spent her practice time - and the official testing time a week prior - learning the car for her series debut race.

Cook, a Hagerty-supported Athlete, piloted the No. 37 privé products/ PenFed Credit Union entry for JDX Racing, and continued to get acclimated with her new team.

The 32-car field had two practice sessions Wednesday in the hot Florida weather, followed by qualifying on Saturday morning. Freiberg ran in the top ten for her first official Carrera Cup practice session, and both racers were inside the top 15 later that day, with Cook in 11th and Freiberg in 12th.

Cooler track temperatures on Thursday morning meant fast lap times around the 3.74-mile, 17- turn race track. Unfortunately, a red flag interrupted the session and thwarted many drivers’ attempts. Nevertheless, both Shift Up Now Athletes qualified inside the top 15 on their Yokohama tires. Cook would start 13th and Freiberg 15th for Round 1 of the 2025 season.

The first 40-minute race began at 4:55pm EST on Thursday. After one pace lap, the green flag flew and the field went four-wide heading into turn one. Cook made it through safely, then fought side-by-side through multiple turns before completing a pass on the outside of turn seven. She then put the pressure on the car ahead for the remainder of the lap, and made the pass midway through the final corner. When she caught the pack in front of her, she made another pass heading into turn 10.

Right behind them, Freiberg was engaged in her own side-by-side battle, where she completed a pass onto the front straight. The cars in seventh though fourteenth formed and maintained a tight pack for the first third of the race. Freiberg advanced another position and started to lay down faster lap times than the cars ahead.

In what would end up being a green-flag race all the way through, Cook continued to stay with the pack until she picked up a braking issue. It would cause her to fall back to 14th place, maintaining that position until the checkered flag. Freiberg finished in 13th.

The following evening, race two began at 6:25pm EST on Friday. The 40-minute race into the sunset saw Freiberg starting 13th and Cook 14th, based on their second-fastest qualifying laps.

Once again, the field completed one pace lap before coming to the green flag, with the front row nearly touching as they pushed the boundaries of side-by-side racing.

Freiberg made a strong start as the field fanned out to four-wide again, heading into turn one. She picked her lines through the first several turns, gaining two places and advancing to 11th. As the field exited turn five heading toward the back straight, Freiberg was at the back of the lead pack, with minimal distance behind her to the 12th-place car.

From turns one through seven, Cook fought side-by-side before making a pass. However, as she and the field approached turn 10, a slow car on track caused all the drivers to check up. This resulted in Cook’s 992 getting hit from behind, pushing her into the car ahead and causing too much damage to continue. She was forced to retire her car for the day.

The full-course caution left 26 minutes remaining on the restart. Freiberg advanced to 10th place, once again immediately attaching herself to the back of the lead train. The top ten then continued to create a gap to the remainder of the field.

Freiberg’s lap times continued to improve as she looked to start putting pressure on the ninth- place car. Without enough time left to make the pass, she crossed the finish line with a top-ten finish in her Porsche Carrera Cup debut weekend.

“I’m really happy with a top-ten finish in my first Porsche Carrera Cup North America race,” said Freiberg. “The field is stacked with incredible drivers, past champions and race winners, so I’m definitely going to be pushed this year, which really excites me. I felt like the whole weekend was full of growth, and I’m really excited about the rest of the year. Qualifying was tough with the red flag, as I was on my flier going into turn seventeen when it came out. It didn’t give me the full opportunity to show our pace, but lesson learned!

“I have to give a huge thank you to my team, Kellymoss Racing. They are the heart and support behind this result and my program, and I couldn’t be happier to have such a strong foundation of people behind me. Thank you to my sponsors, Yokohama, Mobil1, Shift Up Now, Dream Giveaway, Radius Drive, my family, Josh and Enzo, and my fans. I absolutely love representing the ‘Be Your Own Hero’ car out on track!”

Next up, Freiberg, Cook and the Porsche Carrera Cup North America series will head back to Florida for Round 2 at the Miami International Autodrome on May 2-4, 2025.

Shift Up Now Foundation Awards $250,000 in Female Racers’ Grants for 2025

To kick off Women’s History Month, the Shift Up Now Foundation is proud to announce that it will award just over $250,000 in grants this season to talented female drivers across 12 different racing series.

The grants will be allocated to fifteen different drivers and development athletes, including one of the newest Athletes to join the Shift Up Now roster, Tatiana Calderon, driving in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship for Gradient Racing.

The 11 other Shift Up Now Athletes include Sabré Cook, competing in Porsche Carrera Cup North America for JDX Racing; Ashley Freiberg, in Porsche Carrera Cup North America for Kellymoss Racing; Loni Unser, in Porsche Sprint Challenge North America for Kellymoss Racing; Erika Hoffmann, in Porsche Sprint Challenge North America for Kellymoss Racing; Laura Hayes, driving for Thunder Bunny Racing (series TBA); Nicole Havrda, in FR America for Kiwi Motorsports; Christina Lam, in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge for Rockwell Auto Development; Michele Abbate, in the Spring Mountain Racing Series for Grr Racing; Sarah Montgomery, in World Racing League for AE Victory Racing; Taylor Ferns, in 500 Sprint Car Tour and USAC Silver Crown for Taylor Ferns Racing; and Sally Mott, in Mazda MX-5 Cup for JTR Motorsports Engineering.

Three development athletes will also be receiving grants as they graduate from karting onto the motorsports ladder. They include Ashlyn Speed, competing in Mazda MX-5 Cup for Hendricks Motorsport; Paityn Feyen, in Toyota GR Cup Series for Copeland Motorsports / Nitro Motorsports; and Emerson “Emy” Kissick, in a Spec MX-5 team for Mazda Motorsports.

The Shift Up Now Foundation was launched in December 2022 and lives alongside the Shift Up Now for-profit business. The foundation continues to strive for gender equality for female athletes in motorsport, and contributes to furthering the mission by accepting tax-deducible gifts, donations and grants.

Shift Up Now CEO Pippa Mann reflected on the impact the foundation has been able to make, while still in its infancy, for these 15 talented racers.

“Being able to make a difference for this many racers, just months after the foundation celebrated its second birthday, is a dream come true,” said Mann. “I cannot thank all of our donors enough - from brands like PenFed Credit Union who supported our inaugural event last year as a title sponsor, to Lucas Oil creating a matching donation, to Parity and the Women’s Sports Foundation including us in their Parity Week Grants.

“I’m touched by the race fans who’ve joined our mission to help us make a difference, not just women supporting women, but I’m thrilled that we’ve had so many male allies as well. We also saw racers step forward to support other racers, making donations that don’t benefit themselves, but simply because they believe in our goals. Plus, larger donations from generous personal donors such as James Schenck have been significant in moving the needle.”

Mann concluded, “To everyone who took part in our 2024 fundraising in any way, this list of 2025 grantees has been made possible due to your support. You have personally helped these racers make their seasons happen. And when you see Shift Up Now logos on their race cars, suits or helmets, we hope you’re smiling as widely as we are, because you made this happen.”

For more information, please email info@shiftupnow.com. 

The 2025 racing season is already underway. Fans and supporters can follow along by checking out the Shift Up Now racing calendar to find out when the various Athletes will be on track. 

Want to join the movement and help us continue providing opportunities to talented female racers? Donations can be made to the Shift Up Now Foundation at ShiftUpNow.org. 

Top Ten Finishes for Hadley & Mott in MX-5 Cup at St. Petersburg

Shift Up Now Athletes Heather Hadley & Sally Mott earned top-ten finishes in the first street course event of the season, alongside fellow Shift Up Now Athlete Ashlyn Speed, competing in rounds three and four of the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin on February 28 - March 2, 2025, in St. Petersburg, FL.

To kick off the race weekend, drivers and teams were invited to the premiere of First to the Finish, a documentary that follows the trials and tribulations of drivers Hadley and Mott as they navigate the 2024 Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup season, plus the non-stop schedule of BSI Racing team owner Shea Holbrook. The documentary will debut on Prime Video on March 25, 2025.

Thirty-five cars - including five female drivers - were entered in the two 45-minute races on the 14-turn, 1.8-mile street course. The MX-5 Cup event took place as a support race for the NTT IndyCar Series race on Sunday afternoon.

Practices one and two took place on Friday, followed by practice three and qualifying on Saturday.

Driving the No. 15 Iron Dames-inspired livery for JTR Engineering, Mott hit the track Friday for her first-ever outing on a street circuit. The same was true for Speed, driving the No. 31 Whelen / Mazda Motorsports entry for Hendricks Motorsports. Both drivers spent the first two practice sessions learning the track and finding speed.

Meanwhile, Hadley, who had raced at St. Pete in 2023 and scored her first top-ten MX-5 Cup result there, wasted no time getting up to speed. Behind the wheel of the No 54 “reverse Oreo” livery and driving for Hendricks Motorsports, she was immediately inside the top 20 in the very first practice session, among incredibly tight times throughout the field.

Both practice sessions ended up being interrupted by red flags due to crashed cars on the course, limiting track time. On Saturday morning, this meant teams had a decision to make regarding the third practice, which was effectively a short, 20-minute warmup that led almost immediately into qualifying. The field was split, with half electing to run, with the other half not willing to take the risk.

During qualifying, Hadley found herself a few tenths short of her pace goal, putting her 22nd on the starting grid. Meanwhile, Mott got up to speed quickly but made a small mistake and spun, then was immediately collected by another car spinning at the same corner. She would start 32nd. Speed, in only her second event in the series, and with very little seat time in the MX-5 Cup cars, continued to keep her focus on learning, and personal improvement. She would line up in 31st for race one.

Despite the ideal weather conditions for most of the weekend, overcast skies appeared for the start of the first race, making the track slick. After two pace laps led by the First to the Finish Mazda pace car, the field made a clean start. However, the back half was not able to pack up for the green flag, so they found themselves immediately playing catchup.

Hadley was able to move into the top 20 within the first few laps of the race, and set her sights on the 19th-place car. Mott also started picking off competitors one by one from the back of the pack.

As the racing continued, cars rubbed and bumped as they ran side-by-side, causing oil to collect at the entry to turn 10. As a result, a multi-car incident ensued, with several cars ending up in the barriers or on the escape road. All three Shift Up Now Athletes made it through unscathed, picking up positions along the way.

After a lengthy caution period, only 12 minutes remained in the race. As the field lined up for a single-file restart, Hadley sat in 13th, with Mott in 20th and Speed in 22nd. Just a couple laps later, Mott picked up another position to move into 19th, then 18th on the next lap.

With just six minutes remaining, another full-course caution flew for a spun car. After a quick clean-up, the field had three minutes before the checkered flag flew. Mott continued her climb, making a pass for 17th. When another car found the barriers on the last lap, the corner was covered under local yellow, and the rest of the field drove through to the finish.

After post-race penalties were assessed for various incidents throughout the race, all three Shift Up Now drivers were rewarded for their clean driving, and moved up in order. Hadley was awarded a 10th-place finish, and winner of Mazda’s First Female Racer award.

“Race one at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was incredibly hectic,” said Hadley. “Having to start in the lower half of the field due to a qualifying performance that didn’t reflect our true potential meant I had my work cut out for me. I’m incredibly proud of what the Hendricks Motorsports team and I accomplished together. Being able to salvage a top-ten after starting twenty-second is no easy feat at St. Pete, and I can’t thank my team enough for giving me a car capable of doing it.”

Mott finished 14th in class, advancing 18 positions from her place on the starting grid, and earned the Penske Shocking Performance / Hard Charger award for passing the most cars in the race.

Speed finished 18th in class, up 13 positions from her qualifying spot, continuing her trend of improving pace with each track session and improving her racing skills.

Later that afternoon, brighter skies and warmer temps made for an even more slick track for the start of race two. Starting positions were set by the second-fastest qualifying lap, and the Shift Up Now Athletes were ready to advance forward through the field.

After two pace laps, the field managed a much tighter formation and cleaner start than the day before.

Mott immediately got to work, passing seven cars going into turn one, and setting her sights on earning another Hard Charger award. Speed followed her past several of the same cars and moving into 27th place.

A lengthy green stint ensued and the field spread out. With 12 minutes remaining, Hadley was running 15th, Mott 20th and Speed 21st. It was then that a single-car spin brought out the full- course yellow.

The restart, with six minutes left in the race, was clean at the front. However, Hadley was tipped into a spin on the entry to turn one. She was able to get the car rolling without causing another yellow, but lost time and positions as a result.

On the next lap, Mott was mid-pack. When the cars ahead fanned three-wide onto the front straight, she kept a watching brief in their draft, then moved into the top 15 with three laps to go. At the same time, Speed advanced into the top 20.

When one of the race leaders hit the wall on the final lap, taking two front-running cars out as well, race control elected to finish the lap under green, with a local yellow covering the incident in the final corner. Mott took advantage of the chaos, making passes to finish with her first top- ten of the season. She was also the top-finishing female and earned the Penske Shocking Performance / Hard Charger award by advancing 20 places from where she started.

“This weekend started off rough, with both races forcing me to start from the back,” said Mott. “But that only fueled my determination to prove myself. I pushed myself beyond my limits, passing more cars than any other driver in both races an earning double Hard Charger awards, a top ten, and a top-finishing female award. I’ve never had a more confidence-inspiring weekend. I stepped out of my shell, pushed myself harder than ever, and left St. Pete a stronger, more determined driver than when I arrived.”

Next up, the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin series heads to Birmingham, AL, for rounds five and six on May 2-4, 2024, at Barber Motorsports Park.

In the meantime, members of The Inside Track by Shift Up Now can race Mott on the Barber Motorsports track in the first-ever iRacing Spring Sprints, taking place Tuesday, March 18th. Register HERE to reserve your spot! And don’t forget to catch the First to the Finish documentary, debuting on Prime Video on March 25th.

Unser Sets the Bar High for 2025 with Two Second-Place Finishes at Sebring

Shift Up Now Athletes Loni Unser and Erika Hoffmann made a statement to start the 2025 Porsche Sprint Challenge North America season. Unser stood on the podium after both races with back-to-back, second-place finishes, while Hoffmann earned two fourth-place finishes in class, during her series debut weekend at Sebring International Raceway on February 28-March 2, 2025.

Testing and the first official practice for the 22-car, Cayman GT4 Cup field took place on Thursday. Due to the Porsche Endurance Challenge taking place on Sunday, the weekend schedule was condensed, so that the second practice, qualifying and the first race all took place on Friday.

For the 2025 season, Unser is driving the No. 4 “Be Your Own Hero” car for Kellymoss Racing. The “Be Your Own Hero” campaign is aimed at helping young, talented drivers - especially women and minorities from all backgrounds - succeed in racing.

Unser immediately made her presence known on the timesheets, running in second place in the first practice at 2:11.2, and just 0.16 seconds off the session leader. She used the cooler temps on Friday morning to work on race setup, in preparation for the second race on Saturday morning, which would run in similar track conditions, and ran a 2:10.3.

Hoffmann, piloting the No. 21 car for Kellymoss Racing, ran inside the top ten for practice one with a 2:12.4, which she bested in the second practice with a 2:10.9, putting her in fifth. She noted getting more comfortable with each session as she got acclimated to the car, making significant improvements and preparing for her debut race.

Later that day, qualifying would prove to be the closest session of the weekend so far on the 3.741-mile, 17-turn road course. Unser just missed the pole position by 0.02 seconds, putting her on the outside of the front row for race one. Hoffmann backed up her strong practice runs to qualify sixth, rolling off from the outside of row three.

On Friday at 3:05pm EST, the green flag flew in the continued sunny, warm temps for the first 35-minute-plus-one-lap competition. Unser had a strong start, holding a side-by-side run through the notoriously fast and bumpy first turn, but dropped into second place as the field approached the brake zone in turn three. She was slightly offline into the carousel as she attempted to make the pass for the lead, but sacrificed her exit a bit. She continued to keep a close eye on her mirrors, ensuring the Cayman GT4 in third place didn’t get a run on her. By the exit of turn seven, the three lead cars all settled into running one car length apart as the field headed to Cunningham.

Hoffmann also had an adventurous first lap, dropping a couple wheels on the exit of turn three. She was able to continue on and take the strip for the first time in seventh place, just before a full-course yellow flew.

At the restart, the field ran single-file and clean. Unser slotted into second place, within a second of the leader, and the two would begin to build a gap of more than four seconds. Unser kept the pressure on until the finish, taking the checkered flag less than two seconds behind the winner.

In her Porsche Sprint Challenge North America debut, Hoffmann crossed the finish line in fourth place in class, and seventh overall. However, a post-race penalty for one of her competitors advanced her to sixth overall.

Race two began on Saturday at 9:30am EST, with Unser lined up once again on the outside of the front row. This time, Hoffmann was starting from fifth place on the inside of row three. Both drivers had a clean start.

Unser tucked in behind the leader earlier that the day before, instead of trying to force the issue around the outside. The two immediately began to pull away from the pack, running 2.5 seconds ahead of the field by the end of the first lap. Meanwhile, Hoffmann began to engage in what would be in a tough battle for positions four through eight.

By lap seven, Unser and the leader had created a ten-second gap to the rest of the pack. At this point, she began applying pressure on the car ahead, and didn’t let up for the next 20 minutes. She forced the leader offline multiple times per lap as she looked for an opportunity to pass. Despite multiple solid attempts, she crossed the finish line in second place, this time just 0.6 seconds behind, and earned the fastest lap of the race.

“I am incredibly grateful to be back racing with Kellymoss, and expanding on what I learned in 2024, into 2025,” said Unser. “To start the race season with two second-place finishes and a fast lap was very promising.

“The weekend was made even sweeter when we got to see the impact of the ‘Be Your Own Hero’ livery. A young go-kart rockstar named Mila came and visited us, sat in the car, and even signed it! I hope young Mila carries that experience with her throughout her career as motivation to accomplish whatever she sets her mind to. Ultimately, I can’t wait to see what the rest of the season holds.”

Hoffmann continued to impress in her debut weekend, starting strong and finishing in fifth place overall, just one place off the podium in class.

Next up, the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America series heads to California for round two of the 2025 championship, at Sonoma Raceway on April 4-6, 2024.

Artist Loretta Harms to Donate Portion of Art Sales to Shift Up Now Foundation

The Shift Up Now Foundation is honored to announce that it was chosen to be the recipient of 25 percent of proceeds from celebrated artist Loretta Harms’ print sales at the upcoming Art in Residence at the Kimpton EPIC Miami.

Harms is a long-time supporter of former racer and current Shift Up Now Foundation board member Julia Landauer. Harms recently attended the Homestead Xfinity race, where she was inspired to create a selection of silkscreen prints with a surrealist pop take on the iconography of the women in motorsport. In conjunction with Women’s History Month, she generously offered to donate 25 percent of her March print sales to the foundation.

“Loretta’s long-time support has been invaluable,” said Landauer, “and her unique, creative interpretation of motorsports continues to inspire. I’m so grateful for her unwavering dedication to championing women, and I appreciate the passion and perspective she brings to the sport.”

Harms works across media - painting, filmmaking, installation and curation - with a passionate focus on the eclectic spirit and energy of fearless game changers. She is the recipient of the Traveling Scholars Award and the Kate Morse and Clarissa Bartlett scholarships in the Fine Arts. Her work has exhibited at the MFA Boston, BMoCA, Kunsthalle Munich, Boston Center for the Arts, in solo and group shows, private and institutional collections. Her recent film is distributed through Sony Pictures Classics and Loretta’s first public piece, an interactive, viewer prompted installation appeared on 12 LED screens spanning the exterior facade and city block of the Port Authority Building in Times Square.

“It was such a thrill watching Julia race at Miami Homestead, and it seems fitting to return to Miami with the first of what I hope to be many creative initiatives,” said Harms. “My hope is that sales from the show can translate into measurable support for your amazing mission: to equip, resource and further the careers of these amazing athletes to the highest echelons of the sport.”

The show at the Kimpton EPIC Miami opens on March 6, 2025 and runs through the end of April. Harms’ prints are available to order online here and ship. Prices range from $850 to $3,800, with a box set of prints for $7,500.

For more information about the show, please visit https://www.epichotel.com/art-in-residence/.

Hagerty Returns as Shift Up Now Partner to Sponsor Sabré Cook

Shift Up Now is proud to announce that Hagerty will continue its partnership in 2025 by sponsoring Athlete Sabré Cook as she competes in the 2025 Porsche Carrera Cup North America series.

Headquartered in Traverse City, Michigan, Hagerty began as a niche insurance agency offering coverage for wooden boats. After expanding their coverage to classic cars in 1991, it has since grown into a global automotive enthusiast brand, and the world’s largest membership organization for car lovers.

Hagerty’s purpose of saving driving and car culture for future generations includes a strong focus on women in motorsport. The partnership with Shift Up Now began in 2021, and has continued to advance year over year.

This year, Cook will be in attendance for The Amelia, one of the world’s most iconic automotive lifestyle gatherings. Celebrating its 30th year of speed and style, The Amelia will take place at the Golf Club of Amelia Island and The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island resort from March 6-9, 2025. Fans are invited to join Cook at the event: CLICK HERE to purchase tickets.

Cook, who became the first woman ever to race in the Porsche Carrera Cup series in 2023, will make her debut with JDX Racing, driving the iconic Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car. The Grand Junction, CO native plans to continue her already-impressive career, which began in karting at the age of eight.

“Hagerty’s dedication to uplifting female athletes in motorsports isn’t just inspiring, it’s game- changing,” said Cook. “Their support through Shift Up Now has fueled my career for four consecutive seasons, allowing me to compete in highly-competitive series. I’m honored to continue this partnership in 2025 and hope to use this opportunity to inspire others, and open doors for the next wave of female racers.”

Eva Gregory, Senior Manager of Marketing Partnerships at Hagerty, echoed Cook’s excitement, saying, “Hagerty is proud to continue our partnership with Shift Up Now in 2025, supporting their mission to empower females in motorsport. As part of this commitment, we are excited to sponsor Sabré Cook through Shift Up Now, furthering our dedication to championing talented drivers and expanding opportunities in the racing community.

“As an organization focused on driving inclusivity in the automotive and motorsport industries, we recognize the incredible impact Shift Up Now has made in breaking barriers and paving the way for the next generation of racers. We look forward to another exciting year of collaboration, helping to fuel the future of women in motorsport.”

The 16-round Porsche Carerra Cup North America season will begin with rounds one and two on March 12-14, 2025 at Sebring International Raceway. Fans can follow along on as the races are broadcast live on on Peacock, IMSA TV, and the IMSA YouTube Channel.