Shift Up Now Athlete Loni Unser had an impressive race weekend, earning a third-place podium finish in the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) on May 24-26, 2024. Driving the No. 4 Speedway Motors Cayman in the GT4 class and competing in ProAm for Kellymoss Racing, Unser’s car is supported by Hagerty, Mobil1 Racing, and TruStage.
Testing at COTA took place on Thursday, followed by official practice on Friday. Unser improved in each session on her Yokohama tires and had her best qualifying of the season so far, earning a P4 start for race one on Saturday.
The weather was scorching all weekend, with ambient temperatures in the 90s or higher. This meant that looking after the tires during each of the 35-minute races was critical.
Starting from the outside of the second row for race one, Unser maintained her P4 spot for the first half of the competition. Near the halfway point, a full-course caution came out. When the racing went back to green, Unser got a great run off the final corner onto the front straight to stay with the leaders and gap the P5 car. She held position as the race continued. Then, with just a couple laps remaining, the leader had to pit for an issue, advancing Unser to her first podium finish of the season.
The following day, she had another clean start from the outside of the second row for race two. After making a pass into the P3 position, a small puncture in one of her front tires caused her to return to the pit box. Her Kellymoss team changed the tire quickly, keeping her on the lead lap. She rejoined the race in P20, then set her fastest laps of the race, two to three seconds per lap faster than the cars ahead. Without enough time to make up the spots she had lost, she crossed the finish line in P18 overall, and P7 in class.
“I am so proud to walk away from the weekend with a podium,” said Unser. “I am so thankful to have such an incredible team behind me to continue to chase for podiums. This lights the fire under me even more for me to put us on the top step!”
Next up, Unser will head to VIRginia International Raceway for round four of the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama on June 14-16, 2024.
