After a solid debut season in the SRO Sprint-X series, American racer Erin Vogel steps up to GT3 machinery in the Fanatec GT World Challenge America, as she joins DXDT Racing.
American racing driver Erin Vogel made her debut in the GT4 America SprintX series in 2020, teaming up with McLaren factory driver Michael Cooper in the her first season in the SRO-sanctioned championship. After a very solid campaign at the wheel of the Flying Lizard Motorsports McLaren 750S GT4 - which included multiple top-10 finishes in the Pro-Am - Vogel announced that she will step up to GT3 machinery in the Fanatec GT World Challenge America.
Erin will partner again Micheal Cooper at DXDT Racing, as the outfit makes a return to GT World Challenge America with a three-car effort.
Sharing the #19 CrowdStrike/DXDT Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, Vogel and Cooper join the David Askew/Ryan Dalziel and George Kurtz/Colin Braun crews at DXDT Racing.
The team - running for the fifth season the impressive Mercedes AMG GT3 cars - is currently relocating its operations from Salt Lake City, Utah to Statesville, North Carolina, in order to save travel time and resources, thus freeing the schedule for more testing and development work closer to the top North American racetracks.
The team comes from a positive 2020 GT3 racing experience, where Kurtz/Braun finished runner up in the championship, claiming seven podiums and three class victories in Pro-Am.
"I'm very excited to make this new turn in my career." - said Erin Vogel.
"It's been my goal for a few years now to race in GT3, and I think this year we've all realized that life is too short to back down from our goals. When the opportunity to work with DXDT Racing came up, I quickly realized that it had the potential to be a great partnership with like-minded people."
"I'm very fortunate to be able to continue co-driving with Michael Cooper for 2021, and we'll have a few other familiar faces on the engineering, technology, and transportation crew. It's also exciting to get involved with a team that includes a number of other women, both on the management and media side as well as on the driving side."
Vogel had the opportunity to test the new Mercedes equipment and quickly felt comfortable in the AMG GT3: "The Mercedes AMG GT3 is an incredibly capable platform that I was able to step right into and be up to speed with quickly, and DXDT has a very extensive testing schedule which will no doubt put us at the top of our game consistently. I'm grateful for this opportunity with DXDT Racing, and I know that as a group we're all excited to show what we can do together."
The 2021 season is expected to start on 6-7 March at Sonoma Raceway and will feature a 7-event calendar, including the 8-hour season finale at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, run in conjunction with the Intercontinental GT Challenge.
After the first round, the series will move to some of the most popular and spectacular race circuits in North America: Circuit of the Americas, Mosport, VIRginia Raceway, Road America, Watkins Glen. The Fanatec GT World Challenge format sees two 90-minute races per weekend, with the two drivers sharing one car; a slightly longer format compared to Vogel last year's racing program.
CrowdStrike, a leading cyber security firm, will also continue its partnership with DXDT Racing: "We are eager to pick up where we left off and looking forward to more wins and hopefully a championship-winning effort", commented driver-owner Askew.
"I’m excited to make a return to the GT3 class with DXDT racing." - added Erin's teammate Michael Cooper.
"I’m hoping Erin Vogel and I can add to that and help drive the whole group forward. I believe we’ll be able to fight for class podiums and wins at every event we show up at. We’re testing our #19 Mercedes very soon and I’m looking forward to familiarizing myself with the car."
2021 GT World Challenge America calendar:
Sonoma Raceway, USA - 6/7 March
Circuit of the Americas, USA - 1/2 May
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Canada - 22/23 May
VIRginia International Raceway, USA - 12/13 June
Road America, USA - 28/29 August
Watkins Glen, USA - 18/19 September
Indianapolis Motor Speedway, USA - 15/17 October