AE Victory Racing earns another WRL podium at Watkins Glen amid challenging conditions

Strong performances by Ashley Freiberg, Sarah Montgomery and Charlotte Traynor - who set the team's fastest lap on Saturday - gained AE Victory Racing another podium finish in World Racing League at Watkins Glen, where the team showcased great teamwork to claim third in race 1.

Photo credits: AEVR

Strong performances by Ashley Freiberg, Sarah Montgomery and newcomer Charlotte Traynor gained AE Victory Racing another podium finish in World Racing League at Watkins Glen.

The all-female team was coming off its historic win at Utah Motorsports Campus, where Sarah Montgomery, Ashley Freiberg and Alana Carter claimed the team’s first-ever victory and the first all-female win in the GTO class. The milestone success came during the second race of the “Crossroads Endurance Challenge” weekend.

Founded in 2023 by GT World Challenge America race winner Erin Vogel and Aaron Snair, AE Victory Racing is a woman-led motorsports team dedicated to empowering female drivers, aiming to provide opportunities, support, and visibility for women in motorsport.

Vogel's team continued its competitive 2025 WRL campaign with another podium finish at Watkins Glen, where its line up — now joined by Mazda MX5 Cup racer Charlotte Traynor, due to Carter's clashing commitment with the final round of TC America — showcased teamwork and determination across the two demanding endurance races. Despite challenging weather conditions and one of the most competitive grids of the season, the team’s consistency has now provisionally lifted them to third in the WRL national championship standings.

Friday’s qualifying session proved to be one of the coldest days of the weekend, testing both drivers and engineers as the Toyota Supra GT4 was fine-tuned for the long races ahead. With Pirelli GT4 America driver Laura Hayes rejoining AE Victory Racing in a strategist role, the team spent much of the day analyzing data and refining car setup.

Ashley Freiberg would eventually qualify the car eighth fastest, a solid effort given the larger and highly competitive field compared to the previous outings.

Photo credits: AEVR

Saturday’s eight-hour race began under cold skies but quickly turned unpredictable as rain and early-race incidents caused multiple Code 35 and red flag interruptions. Ashley Freiberg opened the race with a strong three-hour stint, keeping the car out of trouble through the chaotic early laps before handing over to Sarah Montgomery.

Montgomery faced some of the toughest conditions of the weekend, managing heavy rain, standing water, oil, and debris on track during her own triple stint that kept the team in contention. With just over two hours to go, 19-year-old development driver Charlotte Traynor climbed aboard to bring the car home.

As the skies cleared, Traynor maintained position and also secured the team’s fastest lap of the day — a 2:01.8 during her longest stint to date. The crew executed every pit stop flawlessly and, at the finish, AE Victory Racing secured another podium result, marking another step forward in their competitive WRL campaign.

Photo credits: AEVR

For Sunday’s seven-hour race, the team started effectively from 11th on the grid after several rivals were forced to retire on Saturday. Freiberg once again took the opening stint, charging through the field under clear skies and handing over to Traynor in P4 after two hours.

Traynor maintained consistent pace among the front runners before Montgomery took over for the final phase. With roughly two hours to go, a perfectly timed pit stop moved AE Victory Racing up from third to second, setting the stage for another potential podium.

However, a sensor issue forced an unscheduled return to pit lane for diagnostics, ultimately bringing their race to an early end.

Despite Sunday’s setback, the team left Watkins Glen proud of their performance and progress.

“This weekend really showed how far we’ve come as a team,” said team owner and driver Erin Vogel. “Our drivers, coaches, and crew executed with professionalism and heart. To see AE Victory Racing move up to third in the national championship standings, even if that may change since we don’t plan to run Sebring, is an incredible achievement. I’m so proud of every single person who helped get us here. It’s a reflection of our hard work, and belief in each other.”

Sarah Montgomery added: “Saturday was a great race in which everyone worked really hard and today we were set up to have even better success. Unfortunately with the mechanical issue, we weren’t able to finish it up but I’m immensely proud of our development driver Charlotte and the whole team for working so hard. It was a great weekend.”

For Charlotte Traynor, Watkins Glen was a milestone experience: “It was an incredible experience running with AE Victory Racing again, and getting to experience Watkins Glen for the first time was awesome! I’m super proud of all the improvements we made this weekend and taking the team home to P3 on Saturday was such a cool feeling.”

Ashley Freiberg echoed the team’s optimism: “I’m super pumped for the team with our consistent podium finishes! Everyone executed really well. It was a bummer to have to pull out of the race on Sunday, but I know we will come back in COTA stronger!”

AE Victory Racing will next return to action at Circuit of the Americas in December, carrying strong momentum, confidence and a clear focus on continued development.