Shift Up Now Athlete Ashley Freiberg earned two consecutive fourth-place finishes on Saturday and Sunday during round six of the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America presented by Yokohama at Road America on August 8-11, 2024.
The race weekend marked Freiberg’s first time being back in the cockpit after a crash at Watkins Glen International during round five, on July 5-7, 2024. While still suffering from some of the after effects, she felt ready for her return.
Driving the No. 222 Thu Brule / Mobil1 Porsche Cup Car for Kellymoss, Freiberg built up speed during practice on Thursday and Friday on the 14-turn, 4.048-mile road course.
Qualifying took place on Saturday morning. Despite a shortened session for an incident on track, Freiberg went fourth-fastest on her new Yokohama tires, to start on the outside of the second row for the first race.
Later that afternoon, the field was lined up for the first of two 35-minute-plus-one-lap sprint races. The green flag flew unusually late, but Freiberg had a solid start, setting her sights on an inside pass for third place heading into turn one. When she couldn’t make the pass, she held her fourth-place spot on the exit.
The 41-car Porsche Cup field ran tightly through the entire first lap, and Freiberg was only 0.5 seconds behind the third-place car as they crossed the stripe.
On lap two, a full-course caution flag few as a car went off track in the gravel in Canada Corner. After a lengthy cleanup, only 17 minutes remained at the restart. Freiberg ran comfortably in fourth place but after only a few more laps of racing, another caution flew. It was shorter this time, and the green flag emerged with just over 10 minutes to go.
Freiberg got a big run on the restart, forcing the third-place car to defend. Despite being fully alongside as he cars entered turn 1, Freiberg was on the outside, and she wasn’t able to complete the pass. She settled back in to hold fourth place until the end of the race.
Race two began on Sunday in the early afternoon. Once again, Freiberg was lined up on the outside of row two. And just like the day before, she had a strong start and made a pass to advance to third. However, the pass put her offline and, during the chaos in the remainder of the first lap, she was shuffled back to fifth place.
Just a couple laps later, she made the pass to move back into fourth. Then, with only a few laps remaining in the race, she was closing in on the third-place car and setting up to pass when another yellow flag flew, and remained out for the remainder of the race, giving Freiberg her second fourth-place finish of the weekend.
“I always want to win, so it feels strange to be so happy with my fourth-place performance on Saturday,” said Freiberg. “But I’ve been battling through some adversity personally and physically since Watkins Glen, so my improved performance on Sunday feels like a win.
“I’m so thankful for the incredible support I have behind me from the Kellymoss team and my sponsors. It’s been a tough few weeks, and I still have some healing to do, but I’m already looking forward to coming back stronger than ever for the season finale at Sonoma in September.”
Next up, Freiberg will head to Sonoma International Raceway for the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America presented by Yokohama season finale on September 27-29, 2024.
