GT4 America: Laura Hayes storms to class podium at Road America with late-race charge
- RACERS
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
Laura Hayes was the protagonist of a superb performance at Road America, recovering from a difficult start to the weekend to secure a Pirelli GT4 America Am-class podium with a particularly impressive charge in Race 2.
Laura Hayes was the protagonist of a superb performance at Road America, recovering from a difficult start to the weekend to secure a Pirelli GT4 America Am-class podium with Dome Motorsport.
Sharing the #37 Mercedes-AMG GT4 with Ed Killeen, Hayes produced a particularly impressive charge in Race 2, climbing from seventh to third in class during a short green-flag run at the end of the race and demonstrating the pace to potentially fight for victory had the race remained green for longer.
Hayes and Killeen returned to Pirelli GT4 America at Road America targeting Am-class honours, having already shown strong potential together earlier in the season. The duo had previously secured a podium in their first race together at Sonoma Raceway. Last time out, Hayes had taken fourth in the Am class, narrowly missing the podium despite a hard-charging drive in Race 2.
The fifth round of the championship nevertheless began in challenging fashion for the Dome Motorsport pairing. Their preparation was compromised by limited running during practice, with Hayes and Killeen unable to set a representative time in FP2, leaving them with comparatively little track time heading into qualifying.
Hayes took over the #37 Mercedes for the opening qualifying segment and posted a 2:18.451, placing fifth in the Am class and 25th overall. Killeen then took responsibility for the second qualifying session and recorded a 2:20.137. The time placed him ninth in Am and 30th overall, meaning he would have to begin Race 2 from deeper in the field and work his way forward.
Hayes took the start of Friday afternoon's opening race from fifth in the Am class and immediately made her presence felt. An excellent launch saw her carve through the field, climbing all the way to 18th overall while retaining fifth place in class.
She quickly settled into a strong rhythm, consistently lapping in the 2:20s and beginning to close the gap to Garcia ahead. The pace allowed her to gain additional overall positions and put herself into contention for the leading Am runners.
Her progress was temporarily interrupted on lap four when the #49 McLaren of Chiocchetti went off heavily at the Kink, resulting in a major impact and bringing out the Full Course Yellow. Hayes was fifth in Am when the caution was deployed, and the field remained under yellow for much of the remainder of her opening stint.
The timing of the pit window meant that several cars attempted to pit immediately under caution, only to be held at pit exit, effectively costing them almost a lap. Dome Motorsport elected to keep Hayes on track. When the race returned to green one lap later, the strategy began to pay off. Hayes climbed rapidly through both the class and overall classifications, moving as high as third overall and third in Am.
She continued to stay out for as long as possible, eventually reaching second in the Am class, behind Wilson, while Frankie Muniz's TechSport Mustang also made its pit stop.
Hayes finally brought the Mercedes into pit lane on lap 12 from second in Am, handing the car over to Killeen. The timing of the stop allowed the team to place Killeen in third place in class.
He initially lost one position to Tyler Stone and dropped to fourth, but the situation soon changed again when the #21 ACI Motorsport BMW, which had been leading the Am class, suffered suspension damage. Although the car managed to limp back toward the pits, it ultimately retired, promoting Killeen back into third.
The Dome Motorsport Mercedes then came under increasing pressure from Kenny Schmied in the #72 Toyota. Schmied completed the pass on lap 20, moving Killeen down to fourth in Am.
Killeen remained in the fight during the closing laps but was unable to keep pace with Judson Holt's #188 BMW, eventually crossing the finish line fifth in the Am class.
Although the final result did not fully reflect the potential demonstrated earlier in the race, Killeen delivered one of his strongest drives of the season in terms of pace, while Hayes' opening stint had put the team into genuine podium contention.
Ed Killeen took the start of Saturday afternoon's second race from ninth in Am and 30th overall, facing another challenge: rain arrived approximately half an hour before the race, leaving the circuit wet and prompting race control to start the field behind the Safety Car.
After two laps, the green flag was finally shown, sending the drivers into particularly difficult conditions.
Killeen settled into 29th overall and ninth in Am, fighting for grip alongside the rest of the field. He struggled to find the same pace as the leading Am runners but concentrated on keeping the Mercedes on the circuit and continuing to bring the car toward the pit window.
A spin on lap five briefly threatened to undo that progress, but Killeen was able to recover and rejoin the race.
The situation changed when Marc Miller and Alex Garcia were involved in a major accident at Canada Corner, bringing out another Full Course Yellow. The caution proved beneficial for Killeen, who had begun to lose touch with the cars ahead and was able to reconnect with the pack.
The pit window subsequently opened under caution, with the field heading to pit lane. Hayes took over the #37 Mercedes, rejoining seventh in the Am class and 23rd overall.
An issue for Catania during the pit sequence promoted Hayes another place, moving her into sixth in class before the race returned to green.
Following repairs to the barriers, racing resumed with just 12 minutes remaining. Hayes wasted no time: she launched an immediate attack at the restart, passing Walker Jr. before quickly finding a way past Stripling to move into fourth in the Am class. Suddenly, after starting the final green-flag phase seventh in class, Hayes was fighting for a podium.
Her pace was exceptional, as she recorded a 2:41.4 on her first flying lap after the restart, the fastest lap of the #37 Mercedes up to that point, and immediately set her sights on Frankie Muniz ahead.
Hayes was one of the fastest Am drivers on the circuit and appeared to have the momentum required to continue moving forward, with the possibility of challenging for the class victory if the race remained green.
However, the battle was once again interrupted when Craven suffered a major crash in the #94 Random Vandals BMW, bringing out another caution period.
With only a handful of laps remaining, the race was unable to return to green-flag running, leaving Hayes with no opportunity to complete the final stage of her charge.
Muniz ultimately took the Am-class victory, while Hayes crossed the finish line third in class, securing a hard-earned podium. The result was particularly impressive given that she had taken over the car in seventh and had only a few minutes of green-flag racing in which to recover the deficit.
The Road America result adds another podium to Hayes' GT4 America campaign and reinforces her as one of the Am class's leading contenders.
The Pirelli GT4 America championship returns to action at Barber Motorsports Park from September 25–27, where Hayes and Dome Motorsport will aim to fight for another Am-class victory.
