Shift Up Now Athletes Ashley Freiberg and Loni Unser earned a ninth-place finish overall—their best of the season so far—in race one of the Pirelli GT4 America double-header weekend at Sebring International Raceway on May 7-9, 2026.
Fellow Shift Up Now Athletes Erika Hoffmann and Laura Hayes were also at Sebring for rounds four and five of the GT4 America championship. Two weeks ago, a schedule clash kept Hayes from competing at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) with Dome Motorsport, but she was slated to rejoin teammate Eddie Killeen in the No. 37 car. Unfortunately, an issue with their Mercedes AMG GT4 car on Thursday couldn’t be resolved, and resulted in it being parked for the weekend.
Hoffmann joined new teammate Paul Bocuse to co-pilot the No. 73 Kellymoss entry for the Sebring race weekend in a striking black and gold livery.
Freiberg and Unser—both supported by Speedway Motors, PenFed Credit Union, Acumatica, Mobil1, Radius, and Pagid—piloted the No. 24 “Be Your Own Hero” Porsche Cayman GT4 in the Silver class for Kellymoss.
The weekend began on Thursday with the first official practice session, where Freiberg and Unser ran fourth in the Silver class, and Hoffmann and Bocuse in sixth. In typical Florida fashion, the hot, humid weather made for high track temperatures and a challenging environment that would continue throughout the weekend.
Friday’s schedule was jam-packed with the second official practice, followed by qualifying and the first of the two races.
The traditional GT4 America qualifying format returned, featuring efforts from both drivers— one qualifies first and starts the first race, the other qualifies second and starts the second race.
In the No. 24 car, Unser was the first driver to qualify, running 12th overall to start on the outside of row six for the first race that afternoon. Meanwhile, Hoffmann took the wheel of the No. 73 car for qualifying. Her session was compromised due to lots of traffic on each lap, resulting in a starting position on the outside of row 12 for race one.
In the second qualifying session, Freiberg set the fastest time of the weekend so far, putting the duo 16th on the grid for the second race.
After the COTA race weekend that featured a single, three-hour race, the Pirelli GT4 America series returned to the format of two one-hour races at Sebring.
Race one began on Friday at 5:40pm EST under cloud cover, with 30 cars originally entered, but 29 on the starting grid without Hayes and Killeen. Unser and Hoffmann lined up on theoutside of rows six and 12, respectively, then the field ran in a two-by-two formation to the green flag.
Once across the line, cars fanned out wide. Unser was still on the outside lane all the way through turn five before she was able to find a hole to slot into 13th place overall. Hoffmann made progress from her starting position, advancing four positions into 20th by the end of the first lap. By the team the field had completed the second lap, she was running 18th.
Just as the third lap began, a full-course caution flew for a stopped car with a puncture. Minimal cleanup meant the caution was short, and the race went green again just two laps later.
Unser continued to run within one second of the 12th-place car ahead for her entire stint, with Hoffmann holding steady inside the top 20. Both Kellymoss cars were on the same strategy and pulled into pit lane for the mandatory stop just before the halfway point of the race.
Bocuse took over for Hoffmann and passed several cars to arrive at the checkered flag in 14th place, the second consecutive top-15 finish for the No. 73 car.
The same pit stop strategy worked perfectly for Freiberg and Unser, cycling Freiberg into the top 10 overall. She then gained one more position to earn a ninth-place finish, the first overall top ten for the pair in their debut GT4 America season.
The following day, race two began in the mid-day heat at 12:45pm EST. Ambient and track temps were scorching, creating difficult track conditions for the GT4 America field.
Freiberg was behind the wheel, rolling off on the outside of row eight. After being trapped on the outside through the first sequence of corners, she dropped back to 20th, and then immediately began fighting her way back. She was already back up to her starting spot in 16th by the time another early full-course caution flew.
Once again, the caution was short and the race resumed just a few laps later. It would continue to run under the green flag until the pit stop window opened. This time, Kellymoss split the strategy between its two cars.
Bocuse pitted the No. 73 car relatively early and handed the wheel to Hoffmann. Alternatively, Freiberg ran as long as possible, working to set fast times in clean air and leapfrog several competitors before Unser took over in the No. 24.
After the pit stop sequence, Unser was running in 12th overall with Hoffmann only a few cars back in 15th overall. In a close battle from 11th through 15th, Unser got shuffled back a couple places to 14th, but remained within a half second of the car ahead.
The ongoing battle allowed Hoffmann to close in and—in a battle between Kellymoss teammates—was able to pass Unser for 14th place overall, gaining a spot in the Silver class.
Unser then dropped back to 16th but made a pass just one lap later to regain the spot in the top 15. She then passed Hoffmann back to take over the 14th-place spot. On the penultimate lap, she was on a roll, running 13th overall and closely chasing 12th as the field entered the final lap. She spent the better part of the final lap trading places with the BMW ahead of her that held the 12th-place spot. Just before coming to the checkered flag, she made the pass to earn a 12th-place finish for the No. 24 team.
Hoffmann also completed a strong drive for another top 15 finish overall, bringing her No. 73 car over the line in 14th place.
"After leaving Sebring, I'm feeling both excited and grateful," said Unser. "I feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to race with Kellymoss in GT4 America this year alongside Ashley, and backed by some amazing partners. While we haven't achieved the results we want in our class yet, the top ten overall shows we're maing progress and have strong pace. I'm so excited to keep working for that first podium finish in the Silver class!"
Next up, Hoffmann, Unser, Freiberg, and Hayes head to Georgia for rounds six and seven of the Pirelli GT4 America championship, at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on June 12-14, 2026.
