GT4 America: Laura Hayes leads overall before late misfortune at COTA
- RACERS
- Apr 29
- 4 min read
Laura Hayes showcased front-running pace and led overall in the 2025 GT4 America Lone Star Enduro at COTA, but a late suspension failure denied Thunder Bunny Racing a likely AM class podium after a standout performance.
Thunder Bunny Racing’s Laura Hayes narrowly missed out on a class victory at the second round of the 2025 Pirelli GT4 America Series, after leading overall for most of the race’s first half. She remained in close contention for AM class honors until a suspension issue halted the team’s ambitions in the final 15 minutes of the 3-hour Lone Star Enduro at Circuit of the Americas in Austin.
Hayes, a Shift Up Now athlete, is making her GT4 America debut in 2025 and has shown impressive speed aboard the #606 Toyota Supra GT4, despite a string of misfortunes that have so far prevented her from capitalizing on her pace.
Sharing the car with Allen Patten, the Thunder Bunny Racing duo had already impressed at their debut during the Sonoma season opener. However, contact in the opening stages ultimately took them out of contention for the weekend, and a technical issue prevented them from starting Race 2.
The Lone Star Enduro, the only 3-hour endurance race on the GT4 America calendar, offered the perfect opportunity for a comeback and to demonstrate their potential in the AM category.
Hayes, who previously competed in the ultra-competitive Mazda MX-5 Cup before moving up to GT4 machinery in the endurance-based World Racing League with her own Thunder Bunny Racing outfit, is proving to be quick even in the sprint race format. She delivered a standout drive at COTA, clocking exceptional lap times in the first half of the race that brought the #606 Supra to the overall lead.
Hayes topped the AM class from the outset, setting a 2:14.754 in Free Practice 1, placing her eighth overall. Teammate Allen Patten replicated the class-topping performance in FP2 with a 2:15.656. Patten then took part in Friday’s 15-minute qualifying session and put in a stellar effort, setting a 2:13.575 to claim pole position in the AM class and placing inside the overall top ten.
The three-hour endurance race got underway on Saturday afternoon, with Laura Hayes starting P7 overall and P1 in class. At the green flag, Hayes had a great launch and moved up to sixth overall, then climbed to fifth by the end of the first lap. A full-course yellow was deployed on lap 2, but on the restart by lap 5, Hayes held her position with another strong getaway, maintaining fifth overall and the AM class lead.
Running close to the top Silver class competitors, Hayes set fastest laps overall and continued to impress. A second full-course yellow was issued following a heavy crash for the Alex Vogel P1 Groupe McLaren, which went off into the barriers at the Esses.
While several teams opted to pit roughly 30 minutes into the race, Hayes stayed out and cycled up to third overall under caution. After the restart with 2h18m remaining, Hayes held onto the overall lead, keeping Elghanayan and Green behind. She extended her lead to over three seconds as her rivals battled, and she eventually pitted on lap 16 after a stellar stint, having set the overall fastest lap at that point.
Patten took over on lap 17, rejoining in P22 and seventh in AM, and immediately continued the strong pace with fast sector times. As the race approached the one-hour mark, Patten moved up to sixth in class. With many teams cycling through their second pit stops, the #606 Toyota climbed to seventh overall and second in class before making another stop.
Hayes got back behind the wheel, rejoining P21 and sixth in AM with 1h20m remaining. Once again, she was one of the fastest cars on track, cutting down a 10-second gap to the AM top five. On lap 51, she overtook the #98 Random Vandals BMW, gaining ground steadily at nearly two seconds per lap.
As the race entered its final hour and teams prepared for their last pit stops, Hayes pitted on lap 52 from fifth in class. Patten resumed for the final stint, and by the end of the pit cycle, the Thunder Bunny duo were back up to fourth in AM.
With several cars receiving track limits warnings, Patten set a purple sector two and began closing in on Schmied in the RAFA Racing Toyota, eyeing a class podium. Needing a caution to get back in contention for a win, the full-course yellow was indeed triggered with 26 minutes to go due by Cicero’s stranded BMW – a key opportunity for a reshuffled top order.
As the sun began to set, the race prepared to go green again, but heartbreak struck: Patten had to bring the car back into the pits under caution due to a suspension issue, specifically a tie rod failure, ending their race just 15 minutes from the finish.
It was a cruel blow for a team that had dominated the AM class all weekend, especially after a standout performance from Laura Hayes.
“I sort of surprised myself in my opening stint! The car was so good", Laura explained. "I was able to set the fastest laps of the race at that point and even took the overall lead for a while. Won’t lie, that was cool!”
“Absolutely gutted after the performance we put in, only to have everything taken away in the last 25 minutes.”
Despite the disappointing result, it was a strong showing from both drivers, who now just need a bit of luck to turn their promising pace into results. The next round will take place at Sebring International Raceway on May 16–18.
