Laura Hayes secures podium finish on return to Pirelli GT4 America, Freiberg, Unser and Hoffmann make series debut
- LIAM REDFORD
- 5 minutes ago
- 10 min read
Laura Hayes began her Pirelli GT4 America campaign with a trip to the podium as the Dome Motorsport driver was a consistent frontrunner in the Am class and secured a third-place finish in Race 1 at Sonoma Raceway. The all-female crew of Ashley Freiberg and Loni Unser made an encouraging start to their campaign in the Silver class, achieving a best result of sixth, while Erika Hoffmann stepped up to the highly-competitive championship taking significant strides forward over the course of the weekend and banking two points-scoring finishes.
Laura Hayes began her Pirelli GT4 America campaign with a trip to the podium as the Dome Motorsport driver secured a third-place finish in the Am class. Racing alongside new teammate Eddie Killeen, the pair were consistent frontrunners in the Am class with Hayes also leading a lap outright during race one. This strong drive culminated in a third-place result, before the pair claimed a hard-fought fifth-place finish during race two at Sonoma Raceway.
The all-female crew of Ashley Freiberg and Loni Unser made an encouraging start to their campaign in the Silver class, achieving a best result of sixth. Driving for Kellymoss, the pair banked valuable experience as they took the fight to their more experienced rivals on their first weekend in the series.
Also making her Pirelli GT4 America debut with Kellymoss, Erika Hoffmann stepped up to the highly-competitive championship alongside fellow newcomer Jack Parriott. Hoffmann and Parriott took significant strides forward over the course of the weekend and banked two points-scoring finishes in the Silver class, taking the chequered flag in eighth position in both one-hour contests.
Pirelli GT4 America has recently welcomed an encouraging cohort of female drivers and 2026 is no exception. Returning to challenge for the Am class championship, Laura Hayes has moved from Thunder Bunny Racing to Dome Motorsport in partnership with veteran racer Eddie Killeen. Driving a Mercedes AMG GT4, Hayes has built a wealth of experience in a range of different GT4 machines in recent years and she is now looking to use this knowledge to compete at the front of her respective class. Last season, Hayes demonstrated exceptional speed alongside Allen Patten as the pair secured multiple podium finishes in the Am class.
Kellymoss continue their association with female drivers as a trio of talented racers join the Victoria Thomas-led squad. Sharing the #24 Porsche Cayman 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport machine, Ashley Freiberg and Loni Unser team up in the highly competitive silver class as they target continued progression in their rookie year in the series.
Freiberg’s most recent campaign in Porsche Carrera Cup North America demonstrated her potential in the leading single-make championship in America. Despite her relative lack of experience in the series, Ashley regularly contended for top-10 results in the Pro class. Freiberg also has relevant GT4 experience having started the season driving for AE Victory Racing in the World Racing League.Â
Unser remains on the Porsche ladder having finished as vice-champion in the 2025 Porsche Sprint Challenge North America Pro/Am class. Driving for Kellymoss, Unser claimed one victory and nine other podium finishes in a superb campaign where she remained in championship contention until the final round.
Erika Hoffmann is also a graduate of Porsche Sprint Challenge North America and arrives into Pirelli GT4 America on the back of a fourth place championship finish in the Cayman Pro/Am class. Despite limited seat time, Hoffmann displayed superb improvements over the campaign which resulted in a stunning victory in the final round of the season at Road Atlanta. Racing in the Silver class alongside Jack Parriott, the pair arrived into the season looking to overcome their experience deficit to others in their class.
On-track action began on Wednesday as all three crews gained valuable experience at Sonoma Raceway. In the Silver class, Freiberg and Unser finished two out of the three sessions within the top-5, while Hayes and Killeen also ended the day in fifth position within the Am class. 80 laps were completed by Hoffmann and Parriott across the first day of running as they finished the trio of sessions inside the top-10 in class.
After a productive first day of running, two official free practice sessions were held on Thursday. In the opening session, a superb final lap from Hayes saw the Dome Motorsport crew claim second place within the Am class. Freiberg set the fastest time in the #24 Kellymoss machine as the all-female crew finished free practice one in sixth position within class. Hoffmann and Parriott were well-matched in the sister car as Erika’s quickest lap of a 1:45.094 saw them end the session in ninth among the Silver runners.Â
Free practice two was held on Thursday afternoon with faster lap times throughout the field as the drivers prepared for qualifying. Hayes again impressed as she set the third quickest time within the Am class and was less than a second away from the overall fastest lap set by Yves Baltas. Freiberg and Unser continued their consistent weekend with a sixth-place result in class, while Hoffmann and Parriott were eighth fastest among the Silver competitors.Â
Friday’s action began with the single qualifying session which took place early in the morning. Hayes was onboard the Dome Motorsport machine and she enjoyed a productive session, setting a fastest lap of a 1:43.253 which placed her in 17th position overall, fourth within the Am class.Â
In the all-female #24 Kellymoss entry, Unser was tasked with qualifying duties and she ended the session just two hundredths of a second behind Hayes in 18th position overall, while securing a seventh place starting spot in the Silver class. Unser showed good pace through the final sector especially, lapping on pace with those inside the top-5 during this part of the circuit.
In the sister Kellymoss machine, Parriott drove in the fifteen-minute session and he found good lap time improvements from the free practice sessions. Setting the 24th quickest time overall, Parriott and Hoffmann lined up from ninth position in the Silver class with a fastest lap of a 1:44.227.
The season opening race took place on Friday afternoon with all three crews looking to make progress from their respective starting positions. Due to a technical infraction for the pole sitting Advance Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4, this promoted Hayes to 17th overall, Unser to 18th and Parriott to 23rd position respectively. One further position was gained by each team on the pace laps when the Random Vandals Racing machine of Josh Green pitted with a puncture.
When the race got underway following an additional formation lap, contact at the head of the field between Sam Craven and Allen Patten saw damage to both Patten’s Dome Motorsport machine and the unfortunate ACI Motorsports car of Alex Garcia which was collected in the incident. This resulted in the race entering a full course yellow period in order to remove the two stricken cars, in addition to significant debris after the right-side door became detached from James Walker Jr’s BMW M4 GT4.
Under the neutralisation period, Hayes had moved into 11th position overall while now holding down third within the Am class. Parriott had done a superb job to pick his way through the incidents, gaining six positions in his Kellymoss machine to claim 17th overall, seventh in the Silver class. Although it was a tougher start to the race for Unser who ran in 18th overall, eighth in class, her car was undamaged and she was now looking to move forward.
The drivers spent a significant period behind the safety car, before the race resumed on lap eight. Walker Jr pitted as the green flag was displayed and this promoted Hayes into second position within the Am class. Following a drive-through penalty assessed to Craven, Hayes was now inside the overall top-10 with Parriott up to 14th position. A recovering Green passed Parriott on lap nine, while Hayes was holding her own among higher-graded drivers as the pit window opened.
Hayes remained on the circuit and took over the Am class lead while moving up to fifth place overall. Unser also stayed out and this allowed her to claim a spot inside the overall top-10, while utilising a small amount of free air. Parriott pitted at the first available opportunity as he handed over to Hoffmann for her first stint in the championship.Â
After one flying lap, Unser pitted her Kellymoss machine to hand over to Freiberg with the Silver class crew looking to gain some positions during the pit cycle. A good stop from the team saw Ashley rejoin the race just ahead of Hoffmann as they battled over eighth place within the Silver class. On lap 15, Dome Motorsport’s strategy saw Hayes claim the overall race lead as she continued to lap consistently in her Mercedes AMG GT4.Â
With just 30 seconds of the pit window remaining, Hayes pitted to hand over to teammate Eddie Killeen. However, a slight delay in the pit stop cost the duo time and as a result, Killeen rejoined the race in 24th position overall, fourth within the Am class. At the conclusion of the pit cycle, Freiberg was up to 15th position overall, eighth in the Silver class, with Hoffmann running in 20th spot, ninth in class.
As the three newly installed drivers got up to speed, it was a challenging period of the race as they battled with more experienced drivers. Freiberg slipped behind Eric Filgueiras and Werner Neugebauer, while Hoffmann lost out to the Flying Lizard Motorsports machine of Kris Wilson.Â
On lap 20, Austin Jurs stopped out on track with a technical issue and as a result, the race entered its second full course yellow period. With the Silver class competitor out of the race, Freiberg was now up to 16th overall, seventh in class with Hoffmann in 20th position, eighth in class. After being overtaken by Frankie Muniz, Killeen was now running in 24th position, fifth in the Am class.
The race resumed with ten minutes remaining and Killeen was soon back into fourth position as contact between Wilson and Lucas Catania saw the Rigid Speed Company machine fall through the field. Killeen had also passed Hoffmann who had a small off-track moment which dropped her to 25th position overall. Freiberg was enjoying a close battle with class rival Clayton Williams as she hunted down a top-5 finish among the Silver competitors.
In the closing stages of the race, Hoffmann produced a spirited comeback as she overtook Muzaffar Gafurov before applying pressure to further Am class competitors. Freiberg remained less than a second behind Williams and she took the chequered flag in 16th position overall, seventh in the Silver class, finishing less than three-quarters of a second behind the LAP Motorsports machine to complete a productive first race.
Killeen’s attack turned to defence in the final laps as he successfully kept Sean Gibbons behind to cross the line in 21st position overall, fourth in the Am class. Following a post-race penalty applied to Wilson for the contact with Catania, Hayes and Killeen were promoted to third place to begin their Am class championship challenge with a podium finish. Hoffmann also benefited from Wilson’s podium as the #73 Kellymoss machine was classified in in 22nd position overall, while claiming valuable points for an eighth-place Silver class result.Â
Race two of the weekend was held on Saturday afternoon and the grid positions were based upon the fastest lap times set by the second driver in the first race. As a result, Freiberg lined up from 23rd place overall, eighth in class with Hoffmann one position behind. Killeen took the green flag from 28th overall, seventh in the Am class, with the Dome Motorsport driver targeting a return to the class podium.
It was a clean start throughout the field with Freiberg holding her position, while Hoffmann and Killeen lost out to more experienced drivers who were forced to start from the rear of the field. On lap two, Freiberg began her move forward as she overtook Lucas Catania, while Hoffmann passed the OGH Motorsports machine of Sean Gibbons. Misfortune then struck for Hoffmann as the #73 Kellymoss crew were handed a drive-through penalty for a start procedure violation. As a result, this dropped the Canadian racer to 31st overall, ninth in class, as the race settled into an early-race rhythm.
On lap four, Freiberg overtook Austin Jurs for seventh position within the Silver class and after the debutant later pulled into the pits with a technical issue, Hoffmann was back into eighth place. A drive-through penalty handed to Catania then benefited Killeen who was now back into seventh position within the Am class after a challenging start to the race. The Dome Motorsport driver was now setting a series of personal best times as he hunted down his fellow Am class competitors who were running directly ahead.
As the opening stint progressed, Freiberg resumed her race one battle with Clayton Williams who was again the Silver class car directly ahead. By lap nine, the gap between the drivers was a little over one second with Ashley keen to cut the deficit prior to the opening of the pit window. Meanwhile, Hoffmann’s pace was competitive as she recovered from the drive-through penalty with her quickest time of a 1:44.539 set on lap five.Â
On lap 14, the pit window opened and Killeen brought his Dome Motorsport machine to the attention of the crew with Hayes getting behind the wheel. A fast out lap saw Hayes clear the ACI Motorsports machine of Ross Poole while she quickly caught Sam Owen’s McLaren Artura GT4. Freiberg initially stayed out on track and this enabled her to move into second in class prior to her mandatory stop with Unser climbing aboard on lap 17.
Searching for a full course yellow period, Kellymoss kept Hoffmann out on track until the final stages of the pit window with Erika handing the car over to Parriott on lap 19. A puncture on the out lap for Silver class competitor Yves Baltas benefited both Unser and Parriott who gained a position during the pit cycle, while a great pit stop from the #24 crew saw Loni pass the LAP Motorsport machine which was now driven by Casey Moyer.Â
Following the conclusion of the pit cycle, Unser was up to 17th position overall, fifth in the Silver class. Hayes was running in 23rd, sixth in class with Parriott one position behind overall while he held seventh within Silver. On lap 22, the pressure applied by Hayes on Owen paid off as she overtook her Am class rival for a spot inside the top-5. This enabled the Dome Motorsport driver to lap in free air and she took advantage of the clear track by consistently setting the pace within the Am class.
After getting up to speed, Unser enjoyed a superb battle with Moyer and although the Ford Mustang GT4 moved ahead on lap 25, Loni fought back and reclaimed the position two laps later. This overtake coincided with the race entering a full course yellow after an incident involving Michael Petramalo required the safety car to be deployed.
During the neutralisation period, race control requested that Unser be reordered behind Moyer due to the timing of the pass. Due to the extensive cleanup required, the race unfortunately finished behind the safety car. Unser took the chequered flag in 17th position overall, sixth in the Silver class with teammate Parriott crossing the line in 25th overall, eighth in class. Hayes ended a solid weekend with a 20th position overall result, while securing fifth place in the Am class.
It was a productive opening event of the season for the four female drivers who banked valuable experience in a highly-competitive field. Hayes has firmly established herself as an early championship contender in the Am class, while Freiberg, Unser and Hoffmann began the year with encouraging displays against more experienced rivals. The next round of Pirelli GT4 America is an endurance contest which takes place at Circuit of the Americas on the weekend of April 25th/26th.Â
