Shift Up Now Athlete Loni Unser earned her first win on Saturday during round six of the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama championship, at Watkins Glen International Raceway on August 29-31, 2025.
Fellow Shift Up Now Athlete Erika Hoffmann also made her return to the cockpit at Watkins Glen after missing the previous event due to a lack of funding.
The unique weekend featured two regularly-scheduled sprint races on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, plus an additional make-up race on Sunday afternoon. The third race was the result of a rained-out event during the previous race weekend at Road America.
Both Shift Up Now Athletes Athletes competed in the ProAm class for Kellymoss Racing in Cayman GT4 RS cars. Unser drove the purple No. 4 “Be Your Own Hero” car, with Hoffmann behind the wheel of the No. 21 entry.
The 3.4-mile, 11-turn race track was damp but drying during the first practice on Friday, which meant some of the competitors opted not to run. Despite the tricky conditions, Unser and Hoffmann both went out, and Unser topped the scoring charts.
Later that day, the track had dried for the second practice session and Hoffmann took the spotlight when she recorded the second-fastest time.
Qualifying took place on Saturday morning with cool track conditions, which caused several drivers to make mistakes. The resulting red flags created a disjointed session, where drivers essentially had time for two flying laps to set their starting positions for both races.
For race one, Unser would start third with Hoffmann in seventh. Then for the second, Unser would start in second and Hoffmann in eighth.
Later that day, cool conditions continued for the start of race one at 12:55pm ET. Unser was lined up on the inside of row two, with Hoffmann two rows back on the inside of row four, for the 35-minutes-plus-one-lap competition.
After two pace laps, the field ran side-by-side to the green flag. Unser had an impressive start, tucking in behind the pole sitter, and then making the pass for second as they approached turn one. Hoffmann also had a solid start, advancing from seventh to sixth through the first turn.
By the end of lap one, Unser and the leader pulled away from the rest of the field, already creating a 1.5-second gap. Then on the second lap, Unser set the fastest lap of the race so far as she chased down the leader, where she would stay within a half-second as the laps ticked by.
Meanwhile, Hoffmann was involved in a turn-one incident with another car, stalling her momentum and dropping her back to ninth. She stayed focused forward and advanced back to eighth overall. With her sights set on the seventh-place - third in class - position, she attempted the pass but was given a drive-through penalty for incident responsibility, dropping her to the back of the pack. She would ultimately recover to finish 11th overall.
With ten minutes remaining, Unser was still running within a second of the leader. A full-course yellow emerged with five minutes on the clock, and after a quick cleanup, race control opted for a one-lap shootout under green.
The pace car’s lights went out with the field running single-file behind. Unser left no doubt about her intentions as she clung to the leader’s bumper. When the green flag fell, the lead car went early on the way to the final corner but Unser got the better exit out of turn one. She then had a strong run through the esses and picked up a tow heading up the hill, allowing her to pop to the inside, and make the pass to take the lead at the bus stop. She crossed the finish line as the victor, earning her first Porsche Sprint Challenge win.
On Sunday morning, the second sprint race began at 8:30am ET under clear skies and cool conditions. This time, Unser was on the outside of the front row with Hoffmann on the outside of row four.
After the green flag, the lead cars went three-wide into turn one, forcing Unser to check up and dropping her back to third. She then spent the next 30 minutes pressuring the car ahead and maintaining just a half-second gap.
Meanwhile, Hoffmann held her position in eighth overall, and fourth in class.
Then, almost exactly like the day before, a full-course yellow flew with five minutes remaining. And after another quick cleanup, the field readied for a one-lap shootout under green. The leaders ran nose-to-tail through the bus stop.
Unser had a solid run through the boot and pulled alongside the car ahead on the outside heading into turn eight. They ran side-by-side with Unser on the outside for the second-place spot. When she couldn’t make it stick, she slotted back into the final podium position as they crossed the finish line.
Hoffmann was able to gain a position in the overall standings to finish seventh at the checkered flag, and fourth in class.
Later that afternoon, the rescheduled Road America race began at 12:30pm ET. Because Hoffmann had not participated in the previous event’s competition, she was not allowed to run the make-up race.
Unser lined up on the outside of the front row in the 70-degree weather under clear, blue skies. When the green flag flew, she had a powerful start but braked late into turn one. She and the leader ran side-by-side into the corner, where she held the outside but didn’t get the same drive on the exit, so she settled back into second place as the field headed toward the esses.
At the halfway point of the competition, Unser was running about a second behind the lead car. By the time only ten minutes were left, she had closed the gap to roughly half-second, before she began to apply pressure for the lead.
In the dirty air, she reduced the lead to only two-tenths of a second as the clock showed five minutes remaining. Unser got a run heading to the bus stop, forcing the leader to defend. She kept on his bumper coming off the toe of the boot, into turn eight, and for the full next lap. On the final lap of the race, she made another big run into the esses, right on the tail of the leader as they drove through the carousel, but couldn’t quite make the pass. They crossed the line with Unser in second, just four-tenths away from a second weekend victory.
Next up, Unser and Hoffmann head to Braselton, Georgia for the seventh and final round of the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama championship at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on September 12-14, 2025.
