Shift Up Now Athlete Loni Unser earned back-to-back third-place podium finishes during the season finale of the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America at Sonoma Raceway on September 27-29, 2024.
Driving the No. 222 Speedway Motors Porsche Cayman GT4 RS in the 992 Pro-Am class for Kellymoss Racing and supported by Mobil1 Racing, Unser’s weekend began with practice on Friday where she finished third in the Pro-Am class timesheets.
During qualifying the following morning, her fastest lap on new Yokohama tires earned her a fourth-place spot on the starting grid for race one. She would also start race two in fourth, based on her second-fastest qualifying lap.
The first 35-minute-plus-on-lap sprint race took place on Saturday morning. Unser had a clean start when the green flag flew. Being on the outside row meant having to defend her place when the fifth-place car got a run on the inside as they headed into the fast, uphill turn one. The two went side-by-side into turns two and three, but Unser ultimately had to cede the position.
At the end of the second lap, an issue with the third-place car caused it to slow dramatically, then come to a stop. This promoted Unser to fourth, and when officials were unable to retrieve it safely, a full-course caution flag flew.
Twenty-five minutes remained in the race when the course went green again, and Unser once again had her sights set on the third-place car ahead. Lap after lap, the pair crossed the start/ finish line with Unser only trailing by 0.5 seconds and never letting up on the pressure.
She made her strongest run of the race at the exit of the chicane with 11 minutes remaining. She nearly got an overlap alongside the third-place car as they headed into turn 11, but just wasn’t close enough to commit to the pass.
Several laps later, Unser tried again, forcing her competitor slightly wide of the apex. When he struggled to get a clean exit, she pulled alongside. The two cars made brief, side-by-side contact on the short straight heading into the final corner in turn 12. Unser kept her momentum to complete the pass and claim the final podium spot. Once ahead, she pulled away and was never challenged through the remainder of the race.
On Sunday morning, Unser was once again lined up on the outside of row two, this time for the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America season finale. After another clean start, she leaned on her experience from the prior day’s race to carry more speed into the hill in turn two, despite being on the dirty side of the track. This time, she was able to get alongside the third-place car and cleanly execute the pass.
The car behind didn’t let up on pressure for the first half of the race, but Unser was undeterred and eventually extended the gap to more than 1.5 seconds. For the remainder of the race, she drove unchallenged for the third-place position, and was excited to celebrate afterward with the special guests she had in attendance from TruStage.
Crossing the finish line marked her fifth consecutive podium this season. Unser’s podium streak has significantly helped her Cayman Pro-Am championship bid. She’s currently sitting in third place with 520 points, just 80 points behind the second-place contender.
"With the help of Kellymoss Racing, I was able to grow so much as a driver and a competitor this year,” said Unser. “To finish the season with five podium positions in a row proved there is a strong forward momentum that I hope to carry into next season.
“It has been such an honor to represent Speedway Motors, TruStage, Mobil 1, Hagerty, Shift Up Now and Yokohama Tire this year. I am so excited to get to work in the off season!”
