Erika Hoffmann charges through the field twice for double overall top-15 finish at Sebring
- RACERS
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Erika Hoffmann continued to make encouraging progress in her rookie season of the Pirelli GT4 America with two determined recovery drives at Sebring, where the Kellymoss driver secured seventh place in Silver class in both races and twice finished inside the overall top 15 after battling back from difficult qualifying sessions.
Erika Hoffmann continued to make encouraging progress in her rookie season of the Pirelli GT4 America with two determined recovery drives at Sebring International Raceway, where the Kellymoss driver secured seventh place in Silver class in both races and twice finished inside the overall top 15 after battling back from difficult qualifying sessions.
The Sebring weekend marked the third round of the GT4 America season and the championship’s return to the traditional sprint race format after the three-hour endurance event at Circuit of the Americas. Three female drivers featured on the grid, with Hoffmann continuing her rookie campaign after stepping up from Porsche Sprint Challenge North America.
The Canadian arrived at Sebring following a dramatic and ultimately rewarding weekend at COTA, where a heavy qualifying crash for her teammate forced Kellymoss to prepare a replacement chassis shortly before the race, with Riley Dickinson stepping into the car at the last minute. Despite the adversity, the duo had charged from the back of the field to fourth in Silver class, collecting valuable championship points in a remarkable recovery effort.
At Sebring, Hoffmann was joined by Paul Bocuse in the #73 Kellymoss Porsche Cayman GT4, forming another competitive lineup for one of the most demanding circuits on the calendar. Sebring’s notoriously bumpy surface and technical corners once again created a major challenge for drivers and teams throughout the weekend.
The event began positively for the Kellymoss crew. Hoffmann and Bocuse immediately showed strong pace in practice, running sixth in Silver class during the opening session with a lap of 2:12.889, not far away from the overall top ten. The pair then found another half-second improvement during the second practice session.
Qualifying, however, proved significantly more difficult and ultimately forced both drivers into recovery races. Hoffmann was unfortunate in Q1, unable to combine her best sector times due to heavy traffic, and her 2:14.427 lap left her down in 24th overall on the grid. Bocuse encountered similar difficulties in Q2; with a 2:12.783, he qualified 25th overall for the second race.
For Saturday’s opening one-hour contest, Hoffmann lined up eighth in Silver class and 24th overall, with several ProAm and AM entries positioned between her and her direct class rivals. The Canadian immediately launched into an aggressive opening stint, overtaking two AM-class cars on the opening lap to move into 22nd overall before gaining two more positions by the end of lap one. She then cleared additional ProAm entries and climbed to 20th overall while rapidly closing in on the rest of the Silver field.
Her charge continued on lap two as Hoffmann gained another two positions to move into 18th overall before targeting the ProAm car of Gaples ahead. However, the race was soon neutralized when the RAFA Racing Toyota Supra of Spada suffered a technical issue and stopped on track, bringing out the Full Course Yellow.
At the restart on lap four, the field became immediately aggressive once again. Hoffmann briefly lost ground to the AM-class entry of Stone in the hectic opening corners after the restart, while Forman also followed through. Nevertheless, she retained 19th overall after Tomlinson received a penalty for earlier contact.
Hoffmann quickly regained her rhythm and was among the fastest drivers through sector one on lap six, remaining within one second of Stone, who was simultaneously battling Petramalo. A later contact between Hoffmann and Stone briefly pushed the Kellymoss Porsche back to 20th overall, but she regrouped effectively and soon re-passed Holt to recover 19th position while maintaining eighth in Silver class.
As the pit window approached, Hoffmann brought the #73 Porsche into pit lane on lap 10 with 36 minutes remaining. During the pit cycle, the #47 Nolasport Porsche was spun by the #21 ACI Motorsports BMW of Garcia in an incident involving cars entering pit road at the final corner, though the Porsche was able to continue.
Bocuse took over driving duties after an excellent first stint from Hoffmann, who had successfully advanced the car before the stop. However, he temporarily lost overall positions during the pit sequence and rejoined behind several AM and ProAm entries.
As the remaining cars completed their stops, Bocuse steadily worked his way forward again. He climbed back to 21st overall and gained another position after Leist spun exiting the final corner. Benefiting from battles ahead, Bocuse advanced to 18th overall while still holding eighth in Silver class and chasing Stripling.
Further progress followed when Altzman received a penalty for contact, promoting Bocuse to 17th overall. Running in the middle of an intense six-car battle pack, he overtook Stripling for 16th overall and immediately closed onto Schmied as the tightly grouped train continued fighting.
When Ryan Eversley’s Toyota stopped in the grass with a problem, Bocuse gained another place to move into 15th overall. Although Eric Filgueiras eventually found a way past on lap 21, both drivers managed to overtake Schmied’s RAFA Racing Toyota in the process.
Bocuse then created a small gap to the cars behind during the final minutes and crossed the line 15th overall and eighth in Silver class. Post-race penalties later promoted the Kellymoss duo to 14th overall and seventh in class after a clean and effective recovery drive that nevertheless left them slightly too far back to challenge the next Silver-class group ahead.
Sunday’s second race offered another opportunity to capitalize on the car’s pace. Bocuse started from eighth in Silver class and 25th overall under hot Florida conditions that further increased the physical demands around Sebring.
The opening lap was chaotic but clean through the notoriously bumpy Turn 1, and Bocuse immediately began moving forward. He gained one overall position at the start before delivering an excellent opening lap that elevated him to 20th overall by the end of lap one.
Contact between McQuarrie and Wilson at the final corner, combined with issues for the #51 Auto Technic Racing BMW of Selldorff, promoted Bocuse to seventh in Silver class before the Full Course Yellow was deployed on lap two after the stranded BMW and Jenson Altzman’s off-track excursion.
At the restart with 45 minutes remaining, Bocuse continued attacking aggressively, climbing to 18th overall while maintaining seventh in class. He soon overtook Ashley Freiberg for sixth in Silver and consistently improved his lap times into the low 2:15 range, including a 2:15.3 as he pressured Lucas Catania’s BMW.
Once the pit window opened, Bocuse immediately brought the #73 Porsche into pit lane at the end of lap nine from eighth in class, handing over to Erika Hoffmann after another solid opening stint and a clean stop from the Kellymoss crew.
Hoffmann immediately matched Bocuse’s pace after rejoining, quickly settling into consistent 2:14 lap times. As the remainder of the field completed their stops, the Canadian climbed steadily through the order and emerged 16th overall and seventh in Silver class by the conclusion of the pit cycle.
She continued gaining positions overall while also opening a gap over the cars behind before catching the #36 BimmerWorld BMW of James Walker. Hoffmann completed the pass and then rapidly closed the three-second gap to teammate Loni Unser ahead.
Running consistently in the 2:15 range, Hoffmann gained more than two seconds on lap 19 and caught Unser before executing the move for sixth in Silver class on lap 20. Although she briefly lost momentum on lap 22 and Unser regained the position, Hoffmann remained directly behind and continued fighting to the finish.
At the chequered flag, Hoffmann secured seventh in Silver class and 14th overall, completing another strong recovery effort after difficult qualifying sessions. Across both races, the Kellymoss rookie gained numerous positions and twice finished inside the overall top 15, continuing her encouraging first part of the GT4 America campaign, gaining valuable experience at one of North America’s most challenging circuits.
The next round of the GT4 America championship will take place at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on June 12–14.
