Laura Hayes clinches maiden class podiums in GT4 America at Sebring
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"It's rewarding to finally walk away with results that reflect the pace we've shown all year" - Laura Hayes and Thunder Bunny Racing teammate Allen Patten secured their first podiums of the 2025 season during the third round of the Pirelli GT4 America Series at Sebring International Raceway, just missing out on their first win in Race 2.
Laura Hayes and Thunder Bunny Racing teammate Allen Patten secured their first podiums of the 2025 season during the third round of the Pirelli GT4 America Series at Sebring International Raceway. After a highly competitive but unlucky start to the year, Hayes and Patten finally managed to clinch results that reflect the true pace and potential the duo had shown in earlier rounds.
Hayes, a Shift Up Now athlete, is contesting her rookie season in the 2025 Pirelli GT4 America Series, piloting the #606 Toyota Supra GT4 alongside co-driver Allen Patten. Having quickly demonstrated impressive pace in the AM class despite a series of setbacks, Hayes made her debut at Sonoma, where early contact in Race 1 dashed the team's hopes of a strong result, and a technical issue kept them from starting Race 2.
At the second round in Austin, Hayes delivered a standout performance in the 3-hour Lone Star Enduro at Circuit of the Americas, leading the race overall for much of the first half. The Thunder Bunny Racing crew remained firmly in contention for a class win deep into the final stint, until a suspension failure with just 15 minutes to go ended their charge. Despite missing out on a podium, Hayes' speed established her as one of the drivers to watch in the AM class heading into the third round at Sebring International Raceway.
Hayes and Patten were fourth in class in the opening practice session in Sebring, before moving up to second in class in FP2. Qualifying followed on Saturday during a hot and humid weekend in Florida, with Hayes taking the wheel for the first session. The Thunder Bunny Racing driver put in an outstanding effort to secure pole position in the AM class with a 2:12.146 lap, placing her just outside the overall top ten—continuing her strong form from the previous round.
Patten took over for Q2 and clocked a 2:12.297 to claim sixth in the AM class and P24 overall for the grid of Race 2.
Laura Hayes lined up 11th overall and on AM class pole after another remarkable qualifying performance for Thunder Bunny Racing. As the first of the weekend's two races got underway, Hayes was right in the thick of the duels for the top ten before a major incident involving the #23 Nolasport Porsche and the #53 AutoTechnic Racing BMW brought out an early caution. Hayes held onto the AM lead and P11 overall at the restart, with 46 minutes remaining.
She quickly set the fastest lap in class and attempted to pull away, despite pressure from two Silver class cars—the #3 JMF Aston Martin and the #26 Heart of Racing Aston Martin—before the closest AM class rival, the #36 BimmerWorld BMW of James Clay, closed in. Hayes, stuck behind the Pro-Am entry of Tony Gaples in the Blackdog Racing McLaren Artura, saw Clay joining the fight for the AM lead.
As the pit window opened around halfway through the race, Hayes stayed out to capitalize on clean air ahead and moved up to fifth overall as the McLaren pitted. She ran as high as second overall, extending her AM lead with consistent fast laps, and brought the #606 Toyota Supra into the pits without ever relinquishing the class lead.
Patten took over and rejoined just ahead of the #36 BimmerWorld BMW, now driven by Mark Postins. Postins managed a better exit from the final corner and overtook Patten into Turn 1 on lap 12, but Patten fought back in a thrilling side-by-side exchange before Postins eventually secured the position.
Although Patten dropped behind the Pro-Am ACI Motorsports Porsche of Dickinson, he maintained second in class. A post-race 1.68-second time penalty for a short pit stop didn’t change the result. Patten brought the car home in 14th overall and second in the AM class, securing Thunder Bunny Racing’s first GT4 America podium after a superb run for the team.
For Sunday’s race, Allen Patten started from sixth in AM class and 23rd overall in the podium-finishing Thunder Bunny Supra. At the start, Michael Cooper made a bold move in the Blackdog Racing McLaren to take the overall lead from the second row.
Patten became engaged in a series of midfield AM class battles, notably with Stripling and Garcia, as he held sixth and began to post purple sectors by lap three. Running strong in the 2:14s, Patten closed in on Stripling and opened a safe margin to Garcia behind. When Stripling overtook Schmied for fourth in AM, Patten followed closely within a second, maintaining pressure while creating a six-second buffer to Garcia.
Patten pitted on lap 11 from sixth in class, handing the car to Hayes. She rejoined seventh, moved into sixth as Owen pitted the #10 OGH Motorsports McLaren, and then grabbed fifth when Catania came to a stop in the #17 BMW—prompting a wave of pit stops and setting up a full-course yellow.
The Safety Car played into Hayes’ hands, as she had already completed the stop and cycled up to third in AM class. When racing resumed with 19 minutes to go, Hayes had a strong restart, climbing to P16 overall and keeping third in class. She began chasing down the leading AM duo of Clay and Sparta, just a few cars ahead.
In a heated midfield, Hayes was briefly shuffled down by Geraci, who took third in class, but she fought back on lap 20 to reclaim the position. The top four in AM were covered by just two seconds. On lap 21, Hayes made a clean move on Sparta to take P2.
Hayes extended her gap to the third-placed car and mounted a late charge for the win. By lap 24, she was just two-tenths behind Clay’s class-leading BMW but was delayed in traffic from Silver class competitors.
On the penultimate lap, she executed a brilliant move to take the lead in AM, immediately pulling away. However, on the final corner, while trying to clear traffic, she found herself in a three-car drag race to the flag. Hayes was narrowly beaten to the line by less than a tenth of a second, settling for second in class in a dramatic finish.
"After a tough start to the season, it's rewarding to finally walk away with results that reflect the pace we've shown all year," said Hayes. "Sebring isn't the strongest track for our car, so to be in the fight for the win felt good. While it was frustrating to come up just short, I'm proud of the performance we delivered and the statement we made to the rest of the grid. It was a fun race and Allen and I really are looking forward to VIR!"
Despite the heartbreak of narrowly missing a win, the Sebring round marked a breakthrough performance for Thunder Bunny Racing: with two podium finishes and clear class-winning pace, the team finally earned a strong points haul after early-season misfortune—and will look to carry that momentum into the next round at VIRginia International Raceway on July 18–20.