IMSA: Sheena Monk tops bronze entries at Laguna Seca
- RACERS
- 4 minutes ago
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Sheena Monk topped the Bob Akin Award classification for Bronze drivers at Laguna Seca, the fourth round of the 2025 IMSA SportsCar Championship, finishing eleventh overall in the GTD class after a consistent run—marking a step forward following a challenging start to the season, despite an unfortunate penalty that denied them a top ten finish.
Sheena Monk topped the Bob Akin Award classification for Bronze-rated drivers at Laguna Seca, the fourth round of the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Driving the #021 JG Wentworth Ferrari 296 GT3 for Triarsi Competizione, Monk finished eleventh overall in the GTD class after a consistent run—marking a step forward following a challenging start to the season, despite a penalty that denied them a top ten finish.
Monk, now in her third season of IMSA competition, has steadily built a reputation as a consistent and solid driver in the highly competitive GTD class. As the only woman contesting the full 2025 IMSA SportsCar Championship season, Sheena has embraced the challenge of moving to Ferrari machinery with determination, as she joined Triarsi Competizione in the new Ferrari 296 GT3 for the season.
The start of her campaign however has been marked by a series of setbacks despite promising performances. At the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona, Monk and her team were serious contenders for the win until a late-race incident ended their hopes. A similarly promising effort at Sebring saw the team remain in the fight until contact and a transmission issue derailed their run.
Long Beach, the first sprint race of the year, presented fresh adversity as early technical problems limited pace and track time. Despite this, Monk executed a clean and determined first stint, climbing from 14th in class.
Heading into the fourth round at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monk and teammate Stevan McAleer were determined to reset their campaign with a trouble-free race at one of North America’s most iconic circuits. Their weekend indeed began with a promising start: in opening practice, the #021 Ferrari set the 10th-fastest GTD time with a 1:22.496 lap. In FP2, the entire GTD field was covered by just over one second, with Monk and McAleer placing 15th.
Monk then took on qualifying duties, one of only three Bronze drivers in the session. After an initial lap of 1:30.099 placed her second among the bronze drivers, a spin at the final corner forced her to regroup. She bounced back strongly, setting personal bests across the lap to clock a 1:23.368—good enough for P14 overall and second among Bronze drivers, one second ahead of fellow Bronze competitor Orey Fidani.
The 2-hour, 40-minute race saw Monk start from P13 overall; she had a clean and competitive opening stint, running consistent 1:23.9 laps and staying right on the tail of Brendan Iribe’s Inception Racing Ferrari over the opening stages.
Even when caught behind traffic from a recovering GTD Pro BMW and the Heart of Racing Aston Martin, Monk held her pace and navigated cleanly through the field, remaining ahead of Fidani's AWA Corvette.
With 30 minutes elapsed, Monk inherited the Bronze class lead after Iribe received a penalty for failing to meet operational requirements. She also moved up to P10 in GTD as pit stops cycled through. It was a significant step forward for the JG Wentworth entry, with Monk showing solid pace. She handed over to Stevan McAleer with 1 hour and 53 minutes remaining, having completed a clean opening stint.
Unfortunately, the team’s momentum was halted during the pit stop, when McAleer was released into the path of the incoming #36 DXDT Racing Corvette, resulting in contact. The team received a drive-through penalty for the unsafe release, which McAleer served on lap 34, dropping the car a lap down and to the back of the GTD field.
Undeterred, McAleer recovered quickly, setting a best lap of 1:22.495 and matching the pace of the sister Triarsi Ferrari driven by Riccardo Agostini. As Fidani handed over the AWA Corvette to Matthew Bell, McAleer reclaimed second in Bronze and began hunting down Robert Wickens’ DXDT Corvette.
Even after an incident involving the #120 Wright Porsche and the #27 Heart of Racing Aston, the race stayed green, allowing McAleer to continue pushing forward.
Lap after lap, McAleer closed the gap to the #36 Corvette, eventually overtaking it for P13 in GTD. After the next pit cycle, the Triarsi Ferrari jumped ahead of the Heart of Racing Aston Martin, but again found itself behind the DXDT Corvette once again.
McAleer steadily closed in and regained second in Bronze, before catching and overtaking Frederik Schandorff’s Inception Ferrari to retake the class lead and move up to P11 overall.
In the final 15 minutes, McAleer pushed to break into the GTD top ten, narrowing the gap to Wickens but ultimately settling for P11 overall—securing the top spot among Bronze drivers and a strong result for Monk. Her performance, marked by clean driving, earned her top honors in the Bob Akin Award category for the round.
Sheena Monk now sits third in the Akin Award standings with 1,120 points, heading into the next round: the Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic on the Detroit street circuit, scheduled for May 31.
