Loni Unser secures maiden victory in Porsche Sprint Challenge North America at Watkins Glen
- LIAM REDFORD
- 4 minutes ago
- 6 min read
Loni Unser scored a breakthrough victory in Porsche Sprint Challenge North America as she enjoyed a superb weekend at Watkins Glen, where the Kellymoss driver secured her maiden win following a stunning last lap pass in the first race of the weekend.
Loni Unser scored a breakthrough victory in Porsche Sprint Challenge North America as she enjoyed a superb weekend at Watkins Glen. The Kellymoss driver secured her maiden win following a stunning last lap pass on championship leader Jens Hantson in the first race of the weekend. Unser backed up this result with two further podium finishes in the Cayman Pro/Am class to underline her speed across the event.
Unser had enjoyed a particularly strong second half to the season and she arrived at Watkins Glen searching for her maiden victory. Just one race was held at Road America due to inclement weather, however Loni showed excellent speed and adaptability across the course of the event. The Kellymoss driver secured her fifth runner-up finish of the campaign and this ensured she consolidated third in the Cayman Pro/Am championship standings, while edging closer to Anna Cecchi ahead.
Three races were held across the weekend at Watkins Glen with the make-up race from Road America held on Sunday. Last season, Loni banked consistent points at the circuit after she finished both races inside the top-5 in class, while securing a second-place Cayman Pro/Am finish during race one. Now with over 180 points on offer during the triple-header, Unser was aiming to continue her challenge for race victories.
On Friday, two free practice sessions were held at Watkins Glen with Loni making a fast start to the weekend. The Kellymoss driver topped the times in the first practice session with her quickest lap of a 1:56.378 nine thousandths of a second faster than rival Anna Cecchi.
Unser completed 16 laps in free practice two and improved upon her best time from the morning session by over one second. As a result, Loni set the fifth fastest time overall, while setting the third quickest lap among the Cayman Pro/Am competitors.
Qualifying took place on Saturday morning and was held in extremely cool conditions. As the drivers were getting up to speed, the session was red flagged after Daniel Ammann’s car leaked fluid onto the circuit following a crash. As a result, the majority of the field, including Unser, had yet to set a lap time.
The session resumed with just six minutes remaining and the Kellymoss driver was keen to contend for pole position. Unser lost her first flying lap due to a track limits infringements, however she bounced back to set the third fastest time overall, while setting the second quickest lap in the Cayman Pro/Am class behind championship leader Jens Hantson.
Race one of the weekend took place on Saturday afternoon with Unser starting from third overall, second within the Cayman Pro/Am class. Loni knew her first objective was to pass the Cayman Masters polesitter Alain Scalzo and with a smart move into turn one, she overtook the Canadian driver. At the end of lap one, Unser was just half a second behind Jens Hantson as she looked to apply early pressure to the Speedsport Tuning driver.
On lap two, Unser set the quickest first sector on her way to the fastest lap of the race. This ensured the leading duo broke away from the field as they resumed their season-long battle for honours in the Cayman Pro/Am class. The gap remained close between Hantson and Unser and as lap four got underway, the margin was just three tenths of a second.
Unser did a superb job to ensure Hantson’s advantage remained at just half a second with the Kellymoss driver showing excellent speed through the first sector. Loni often gained over a quarter of a second in this part of the circuit as she utilised the slipstream through the Esses. Remaining consistent through the middle portion of the race, Unser continued to extend the margin to Scalzo behind while Hantson remained within sight. With just three minutes remaining, the race entered a full course yellow period as Ramy Farid’s car stopped out on circuit with a technical issue.
Following good work from the marshals, the race resumed for one final lap and Unser was keen to make a move. Although Scalzo forced her to defend into turn one, Unser got a good run out of the corner and remained in Hantson’s slipstream through the Esses. Following a brilliant move on the entry to the Inner Loop, Unser took the lead with Hantson slotting in behind.
Despite significant pressure from Hantson through the remainder of the lap, Unser held on to claim her first ever Porsche Sprint Challenge North America victory by a margin of exactly a quarter of a second, while also securing the fastest lap of the race.
Sunday’s action began with race two at Watkins Glen and Unser lined up from the front row of the grid in second position. As the drivers accelerated away, Anna Cecchi drew level with Unser and she was able to complete the pass into turn one after Loni was forced to defend from William Peluchiwski. At the end of lap one, Unser was less than half a second behind Cecchi as she looked to reclaim the runner-up spot.
As Cecchi and Unser battled over second position, this enabled Hantson to get away at the head of the field as he looked to returned to the top step of the podium. By lap three, Unser had closed to within a quarter of a second of Cecchi and she backed this up with the fastest middle sector of any driver on the following lap. At the head of the Cayman Masters field, Peluchiwski was lapping quickly and he remained just half a second behind his Kellymoss teammate.
As the middle portion of the race unfolded, Unser began to size up a move on Cecchi and on lap nine, she got an excellent run through the Esses. Although she was unable to complete the pass, both Cecchi and Unser were beginning to catch Hantson who was struggling for pace at the head of the field. By lap 10, both female drivers were within two seconds of the Speedsport Tuning driver with the majority of their gains coming in the middle sector.
As lap 11 began, Unser looked to the inside of turn one but Cecchi protected her position well and remained in second. Unser continued her challenge until lap 16 when the race entered a full course yellow period after Reginald Tartaglione went off the circuit at the exit of the Inner Loop. The race resumed for one final lap and although running extremely close behind Cecchi on the approach to the Inner Loop, Unser remained in third position to the chequered flag to secure her second podium finish of the weekend.
The final race at Watkins Glen was the make-up event from Road America and Unser lined up second on the grid alongside Hantson. Unser made an excellent getaway and almost drew level with Hantson as the drivers exited the first corner. By the end of the opening lap, Hantson’s advantage over the Kellymoss driver stood at one second with the Speedsport Tuning racer slowly extending his margin in the early exchanges.
By lap four, Hantson’s lead grew to two seconds, however with Unser showing good speed in the second half of races, she was looking to use her long run speed to her advantage once more. By lap six, Unser began cutting Hantson’s into advantage and three laps later, she was within one second of her rival. The gap then stabilised at around one second with Unser’s speed in the first sector negating the dirty air she faced in the final part of the lap.
By lap 12, Unser was within a few car lengths of Hantson while she began to force him to defend his position. She then cut the deficit further and now within a quarter of a second of Hantson, Unser was looking to get a good run through the Esses to mount a challenge. By the final lap of the contest, Unser’s pressure was beginning to tell as Hantson was tasked with protecting his lead through each braking zone, however he held on to claim victory by a margin of less than half a second.
Unser enjoyed an excellent weekend at Watkins Glen as she secured her maiden victory in the series. Her speed throughout the weekend was impressive as she consistently battled for race wins at the challenging circuit. Unser will be looking to end her season on a high as Porsche Sprint Challenge North America visits Road Atlanta for the season finale on the weekend of 13th/14th September.
