Laura Ely claims two class podiums at Road America

Laura Ely made a successful trip to Road America, where she secured two podium finishes in the 992 Master class of Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West, moving up to second in the championship standings with just one event remaining.

Photo credits: RTD Media

Laura Ely made a successful trip to one of North America's most iconic racing circuits, the 4.048-mile Road America, where she collected two podium finishes in the 992 Master class of the Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West championship. Ely scored a pair of third-place finishes, bringing her podium tally up to seven to date and moving up to second in the championship standings.

Nearly six weeks after the previous round, Black Sheep Racing's driver/owner Laura Ely was back behind the wheel of her #209 Porsche 992 GT3 Cup car at Road America, Wisconsin, for the fourth round of the Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West by Yokohama.

With a win and multiple podiums to her name this year - including a remarkable second race at Laguna Seca last time out - Laura Ely aimed to maintain momentum and continue her positive streak in the 992 Masters category, where she entered the weekend third in the championship standings.

“It’s a busy weekend in Wisconsin, but as the 2024 season begins to wind down, we will continue to push hard for the results needed to fight for championships,” explained Ely before the event. “The competition continues to increase in the Porsche program, and we look forward to being at the front of the field.”

Testing on Thursday was conducted in joint sessions with the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America GT3 classes, as well as the Porsche Endurance Challenge, which brought a total of over 50 Porsche 992 GT3 Cup cars.

Ely contested free practice on Friday, again in a massive field, placing fourth overall among US West entries and second in the Master class in the first session. She finished third in the second official practice.

It was a rather cold day at Road America for qualifying and the first race of the weekend on Saturday. Ninth fastest time after the first qualifying run - fourth in class - Ely improved one lap later, recording a 2:10.656, which put her fourth in class - a promising start to the weekend with a podium again in sight.

In the first race of the weekend on Saturday, Ely had a good start, taking the outside line and holding her position at turn 1 in a clean getaway for the 992 cars. She moved up to P9 soon later, passing Conley on the first lap, then settled back into P10.

While she encountered an issue on lap 3 and lost almost 30 seconds, she got back up to speed and set her personal best on lap 4. She tried to make up time but would need a safety car to catch back the pack.

On lap 7, she set a new personal best, significantly faster than Conley and French ahead, with now a 26-second gap to close.

A safety car was indeed deployed after a big off by Jim Walsh: this gave Ely the chance to catch back up to the pack for the restart. With the green flag waving again with 6 minutes left on the clock, she moved up to third in class.

Laura was back in the mix but had two 992 UW class cars between her and her closest Master class rivals - the #232 GMG Racing Porsche of Kyle Washington. Laura stayed within one second of Luke French's car throughout the final minutes but couldn't quite find a way past and finished third in the Master class, ninth overall after a strong recovery drive. Blake McDonald took overall victory after a bold pass on the penultimate lap over Anthony McIntosh, who was followed by Casey Dennis.

Photo credits: RTD Media

On the second day, it was warmer and sunny for the final race of the weekend in the Porsche Sprint Challenge US West. Blake McDonald started from overall pole position, while the Master class was led by Kyle Washington at the start. Black Sheep Racing's Laura Ely started from P4 in class and P10 overall, once again aiming for a class podium finish.

Ely had a good launch but was boxed in at turn 1, losing one position to Dubets. She then gained a position over Mulcahy, who ran wide, and she seized the opportunity to get ahead. On the second lap, Jim Walsh went off into the gravel, and Ely moved up to eighth overall and third in the Master class.

Ely then had to defend from the recovering Mulcahy; although he eventually got by, she still held on to P3 in class. Laura in fact ran at a consistent pace in the mid-2:11s, not quite having the pace to catch the cars ahead but keeping it clean and putting in good laps, extending the gap to the cars behind.

Kevin Woods had meanwhile taken the lead in the Master class, with Washington dropping behind French and Mulcahy. Ely wasn't too far back.

Third-placed Casey Dennis defended hard against the attacks of John Dubets, who eventually made a mistake, causing his #274 Porsche to spin and fall to ninth. Laura Ely gained an overall position as a result; she kept up the pace and slightly reduced the gap to Washington, who traded positions with Luke French in the final minutes of the race.

More drama on the final lap saw John Dubets pit instead of taking the chequered flag. In doing so, he lost third overall and was classified tenth. Laura Ely crossed the finish line in third place in the Master Class, seventh overall, adding two more podiums to her championship tally at Road America.

“It is always great when you can leave the weekend with some hardware,” explained Ely. “The competition level in the Porsche program this year is stronger than ever, and while a podium is great, the hunger to win is even stronger with one event remaining.”

With one double-header remaining, Laura Ely moved up to second in the 992 Master championship standings, having collected 463 points.

The final round of the Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West by Yokohama season will be contested at Sonoma Raceway, California, on September 27-29.