She made history in 2021, becoming the first woman to win in GT3 in SRO. Now she's ready for the next step: Erin Vogel has joined the Acura NSX program with RealTime Racing and will return to GT World Challenge America.
Erin Vogel might have started her professional racing career only a few years ago, but her progress in such a short time has been extraordinary. At the start of her first season in a SRO-sanctioned series in 2020, Vogel competed in GT4 America at the wheel of the Flying Lizard Motorsports McLaren 570S GT4, which she shared with coach and factory driver Michael Cooper. The duo scored multiple top-10 finishes in the Pro-Am class and Vogel's pace improved quickly through the season. They would step up to GT3 machinery in 2021, as both Vogel and Cooper entered GT World Challenge America with a DXDT Racing Mercedes AMG GT3. Vogel adapted easily to the new challenges and was fast from the first round of the season, narrowly missing out on a top-5 in Pro-Am at debut. Her breakthrough performance would come soon, though: at the third round of the season at VIRginia International Raceway, Erin became the first woman to win in GT3 in SRO worldwide by claiming class victory in Race 1 - also stepping on the overall podium. With a very solid second half of the season, Erin Vogel secured a pole position and was back on the class podium two more times, resulting in the fifth place in the championship standings. A proven line-up, Erin Vogel and Michael Cooper will return to the Fanatec GT World Challenge America in 2022, as they announced a deal with RealTime Racing for the upcoming campaign. They will share the Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 challenger in the 13-event season. “I’m very excited to be working with RealTime and the Acura NSX GT3 program” - Erin Vogel said. “I know Michael Cooper and I are in good hands with RealTime, whose storied history of working with Acura will give so many advantages to the program.” Cooper, who recently took victory at the latest Dayton 24 Hours in the LMP3 class, returns to RealTime Racing after two races in the 2018 Pirelli World Challenge championship. “I’m very fortunate to have found a great mentor in Michael, and we’ve been lucky to continue working together in World Challenge for the past few years,” Vogel added. “I’m ready to show up in 2022 with even more consistency. My goal is to be on the podium every weekend this season, on the top step as much as possible, and consistently running in the top five.” The team's experience with the Acura program is certainly a great starting point. With 101 race victories in GT World Challenge, RealTime is one of the most successful outfits in the series' history, having taken 15 drivers' championships and 14 manufacturers' titles. “It’s very exciting that Erin and I will be teaming up with RealTime in GT World Challenge,” Michael Cooper added. “The team has quite a winning pedigree and I know how good they are from the years we competed against each other in GT competition. I have some first-hand experience with the team too as I was fortunate enough to drive for them once in recent years.” The 2022 calendar consists of six race weekends with double-headers, plus the Indianapolis season in conjunction with the Intercontinental GT Challenge 8 Hour race. The season starts in mid-April in Sonoma, California. 2021 GT World Challenge America calendar: Sonoma Raceway / April 15-17 Ozarks International Raceway / May 20-22 VIRginia International Raceway / June 17-19 Watkins Glen International / July 22-24 Road America / August 19-21 Sebring International Raceway / September 23-25 Indianapolis Motor Speedway / October 7-9
