Ashley Freiberg ends the season with podium finish at Sonoma

Ashley Freiberg secured her sixth podium of the 2024 season at Sonoma, finishing third in the 992 Pro/Am championship after a consistent campaign with one victory and five podiums, culminating in a third-place finish in the final race.

Photo credits: Anthony Puopolo

Ashley Freiberg completed an excellent season in Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by standing on the podium for the sixth time in 2024. Competing in the 992 Pro/Am class at Sonoma, the Kellymoss driver qualified third and missed out on claiming pole position by just over a tenth of a second.

Following late-race contact in race one, Freiberg finished in fourth position before claiming a third-place finish in race two which sealed third position in the 992 Pro/Am championship standings.

Stepping up to the 992 Pro/Am class in 2024, Ashley has been a consistent front-runner and this speed has seen her claim one victory and five other podium finishes. Freiberg came close to stepping onto the rostrum in both races at Road America, with two fourth place results an indication of her continued consistency. The Kellymoss driver was aiming to challenge for race victories in the season finale and to complete an excellent season behind the wheel.

Freiberg was looking to get up to speed quickly at Sonoma, with two test sessions on Thursday the first opportunity for on-track action. Improving throughout the day, Ashley ended Thursday’s action in third position within the 992 Pro/Am class and this laid a strong foundation ahead of the remainder of the weekend. Also finishing third overall in the final practice session on Friday, Freiberg was showing excellent speed ahead of qualifying.

Saturday’s qualifying session was set to be extremely competitive with the resurfaced track surface also playing its part in the small margins between the drivers. Freiberg qualified in a strong third position, less than two tenths of a second behind the pole position time set by MDK Motorsports driver Paul Bocuse.

Freiberg lined up from the second row of the grid for race one of the weekend and made a good initial launch to hold third position, while setting the quickest middle sector of any driver on the first lap.

The top-four drivers ran in close proximity in the initial stages, before Jared Thomas closed up on the back of the Kellymoss driver for third after setting a new fastest lap of the race. Freiberg immediately responded and opened out the gap behind to three quarters of a second, before setting the overall fastest first sector on lap six.

Thomas began to close in once again as the race approached the middle stages, with the JTR Motorsport Engineering driver able to move ahead on lap nine after making contact in the Esses. As a result, Freiberg dropped to seventh overall, fifth in the 992 Pro/Am class.

Now targeting a late-race recovery, Ashley was able to move ahead Scott Blind on lap 15. Without a late-race safety car, progress was tough, however Freiberg was able to bank valuable points after taking the checkered flag in fifth position in the 992 Pro/Am class, later promoted to fourth after a penalty was assessed to Thomas for the earlier contact.

Photo credits: Anthony Puopolo

For the season finale on Sunday, Freiberg lined up from third position with Jared Thomas starting alongside on the second row. Freiberg and Thomas ran side-by-side through the opening turns with the JTR Motorsports Engineering driver clearing the Kellymoss racer for third.

Ashley remained in the group of drivers contesting for the podium positions and although lost immediate touch with Thomas, she settled into a rhythm and looked for opportunities to regain the position.

On lap four, Thomas overtook Paul Bocuse and Freiberg was immediately able to cut the gap to Bocuse to less than a second. A series of personal best times aided her cause as she pushed to end the season on the podium.

By lap nine she was faster than both Thomas and Bocuse as they began to battle for position. Freiberg’s speed in sector one was consistently among the fastest in the field, but her challenge for third position was then halted by a full course caution period while two cars were recovered.

As the racing got back underway, three laps remained and Freiberg was aiming to finish the season on a high. The top-four cars remained in secure positions despite the late-race restart and this saw Freiberg take the checkered flag in fourth position within the 992 Pro/Am class.

However, a post-race penalty awarded for Aaron Jeansonne promoted Ashley onto the podium to end an excellent season in Porsche Sprint Challenge North America.

By securing her sixth podium finish of the campaign, Freiberg sealed third position in the 992 Pro/Am championship standings. Stepping up to the category in 2024, it has been a superb season for the Kellymoss driver with her victory at Circuit of the Americas a particular highlight.

Only at Road America did Freiberg fail to stand on the podium, underlining both her speed and consistency as she regularly fought for race victories. Ashley will now be looking ahead to the off-season where she will be targeting another full-season programme in 2025.

Photo credits: Anthony Puopolo