Loni Unser and Ashley Freiberg secure overall top-10, twice in class top-6 at Sebring

Kellymoss all-female duo Ashley Freiberg and Loni Unser secured a pair of sixth-place finishes in the Silver class during the third round of the Pirelli GT4 America season at Sebring, also highlighted by an overall top-ten finish in Race 1.

Photo credits: Fred Hardy II

Kellymoss all-female duo Ashley Freiberg and Loni Unser secured a pair of sixth-place finishes in the Silver class during the third round of the 2026 Pirelli GT4 America season at Sebring International Raceway, also highlighted by an overall top-ten finish in Race 1 after another competitive and consistent weekend for the Shift Up Now athletes.

Returning to the traditional sprint race format after the three-hour endurance contest at Circuit of the Americas, the Sebring round presented another demanding challenge for the GT4 America field. Known for its notoriously bumpy surface and highly technical corners, Sebring once again tested both drivers and machinery throughout the weekend. Three female drivers featured on the grid, including the Kellymoss all-female lineup that continued to steadily build momentum after showing encouraging pace at COTA despite a late penalty that ultimately dropped them to sixth in Silver class there as well.

The weekend started strongly for Freiberg and Unser, who immediately showed competitive pace in practice. The #24 Kellymoss Porsche ran fourth in the Silver class during the opening session and stayed close to the overall top five, a promising indication ahead of qualifying.

Unser handled qualifying duties for Race 1 and posted a lap of 2:12.844, placing the car 12th overall and seventh in Silver class. Freiberg then took over in Q2 and delivered the team’s quickest lap of the weekend with a 2:11.796, securing 16th overall and sixth in class with a strong effort around the challenging Sebring circuit.

Photo credits: Fabian Lagunas

For Saturday’s first one-hour race, Unser started from seventh in Silver and 12th overall in an extremely tightly packed field. She had a good launch and maintained her class position through the opening corners. The race was neutralized early when the RAFA Racing Toyota Supra of Spada suffered a technical failure and stopped on track on lap two, bringing out the Full Course Yellow.

At the restart on lap four, the field immediately went back on the attack. Unser remained clean and consistent, running seventh in class and 13th overall while staying close to Walker ahead and simultaneously managing pressure from Geraci behind. By lap six, Unser began increasing her pace significantly, posting strong sector times, gradually pulling away from Geraci and closing to within one second of Walker.

As the pit window approached, Unser brought the #24 Porsche to pit lane on lap 10 with 36 minutes remaining. During the cycle of stops, the #47 Nolasport Porsche was spun by the #21 ACI Motorsports BMW of Garcia in a misunderstanding involving cars entering pit lane at the final corner, though the Porsche managed to continue.

Freiberg took over for the second stint and rejoined seventh in Silver class while maintaining position after the round of stops. She soon moved up to 12th overall as Garcia served a penalty for the earlier contact and climbed another place one lap later.

Once in clear air, Freiberg began an impressive charge toward the overall top ten. She attacked Clay into the final corner on lap 13, running nearly side-by-side onto the main straight before completing the pass. When the #413 Flying Lizard BMW encountered issues and pitted, Freiberg advanced to ninth overall while remaining seventh in Silver.

Now with open track ahead, Freiberg quickly began cutting into the gap to Maley’s McLaren. Although Michael Cooper’s recovering ProAm McLaren briefly interrupted her momentum, Freiberg continued to deliver highly competitive sector times, setting a new personal best lap of 2:13.478 before improving again to a 2:13.346 on lap 21.

Her pace steadily brought her closer to Maley, reducing the gap to just over three seconds by lap 22. While the deficit stabilized in the closing laps, Freiberg maintained a healthy margin over the cars behind and crossed the finish line tenth overall and seventh in Silver after a strong and consistent drive. Post-race penalties then promoted the Kellymoss duo to ninth overall and sixth in class, completing a very positive opening race at Sebring.

Photo credits: Fabian Lagunas

Sunday’s second race offered another opportunity for the all-female pairing to capitalize on their pace. Freiberg started 16th overall and sixth in Silver class under hot Florida conditions that further increased the challenge around the physically demanding Sebring circuit.

The opening lap was hectic but clean through the notoriously bumpy Turn 1. Freiberg slotted into seventh in Silver and 20th overall before quickly reclaiming a position from the AM-class BMW of Stripling. Contact between McQuarrie and Wilson at the final corner, combined with issues for the #51 Auto Technic Racing BMW of Selldorff, helped Freiberg move into sixth in class.

The stranded BMW eventually triggered a Full Course Yellow on lap two, with Jenson Altzman’s Ford Mustang also off track. At the restart with 45 minutes remaining, Freiberg defended strongly into Turn 1 from Catania to hold sixth in class.

She later traded positions with Bocuse in the sister Kellymoss Porsche during a close battle for sixth in Silver on lap six. Freiberg responded with increasingly competitive pace, first posting a 2:15.2, then a 2:15.0, but remained trapped in traffic just a tenth behind Bocuse.

As the pit window opened, Freiberg stayed out longer than many rivals, aiming to capitalize on clean air and strategy. The overcut worked effectively as she climbed as high as second in class while consistently lapping under the 2:15 barrier. Her pace was particularly impressive, with a 2:14.748 followed by an even quicker 2:14.557, lap times strong enough to rival the top three in Silver class.

Freiberg continued her charge by overtaking Catania and closing on Denny Stripling’s BMW, while further improving the car’s benchmark lap to a 2:14.439 on lap 12. As Josh Green pitted, Freiberg briefly rose to second in Silver class before finally making her own stop one lap later.

A strong pit stop by the Kellymoss crew allowed Unser to rejoin fifth in Silver after Freiberg’s excellent first stint and successful strategy execution. Unser immediately found herself in a close battle, running just half a second behind Jimmy Llibre while Austin Jurs lurked directly behind.

Unser maintained convincing pace in the low 2:15s and soon had to navigate traffic from the ProAm-class car of Kopczynski. Jurs eventually found a way through on lap 18, dropping Unser to sixth in class, while Kellymoss teammate Erika Hoffmann also began closing in.

Hoffmann moved ahead on lap 20, pushing Unser back to seventh in Silver. However, Unser regrouped over the following laps, rediscovered her rhythm, and reclaimed the position when Hoffmann lost momentum on lap 22. She then immediately pressured the #36 BimmerWorld BMW of Walker and completed another decisive overtake on lap 24.

With clear air ahead in the closing stages, Unser maintained her pace to the chequered flag, finishing sixth in Silver class and 12th overall. Combined with Race 1, the Sebring weekend marked another productive outing for the Kellymoss all-female pairing, highlighted by Freiberg’s particularly strong opening stint in Race 2 and Unser’s determined late-race recovery drive.

The fourth round of the GT4 America season will take place at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on June 12–14.