Misfortunes and Changing conditions prevent top results for female drivers in GT4 America at VIR
- MIKA BÖCKER
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Despite showing strong pace throughout the weekend at VIR, changing weather conditions and late misfortunes prevented Hannah Grisham, Hannah Greenemeier, and Laura Hayes from converting their speed into top results in the latest round of Pirelli GT4 America.
Changing conditions prevented top results for female drivers in GT4 America's fourth round at VIRginia International Raceway. After a severe weather interruption on Saturday, the challenge continued on Sunday: the all-female duo of Hannah Grisham and Hannah Greenemeier collected a pair of top-ten finishes in the Silver class, while Thunder Bunny Racing’s Laura Hayes—who had showcased remarkable speed throughout the weekend—was unable to capitalize due to a series of misfortunes, missing out on podium finishes.
Now in their second season as Heart of Racing’s all-female duo, Grisham and Greenemeier have established themselves as strong Silver class contenders in Pirelli GT4 America. Building on a 2024 campaign that featured multiple podiums and a strong finish after being reclassified into the Silver category, their 2025 season has included a solid start at Sonoma, a podium in the Lone Star Enduro at COTA, and two seventh-place finishes at Sebring despite a challenging weekend.
Laura Hayes, a Shift Up Now athlete, is making an impressive mark in her rookie Pirelli GT4 America season with Thunder Bunny Racing, piloting the #606 Toyota Supra GT4 alongside Allen Patten. Despite early setbacks at Sonoma and a heartbreaking late-race retirement while leading at COTA, Hayes’ pace and racecraft have quickly established her as a standout in the AM class—culminating in a breakthrough weekend at Sebring, where she and Patten secured their first podium finishes of the 2025 campaign.
Hayes and Patten showed strong speed in practice ahead of the fourth round of the season at VIR, running second in class and qualifying second in both Q1 and Q2.
Despite a trickier start to the weekend, Grisham and Greenemeier also made gains over the sessions. Grisham qualified P9 in Silver class and 14th overall in Q1, while Greenemeier placed 10th in class and 26th overall in Q2, leaving work to do in the race.
Before the start of race 1 at Virginia International Raceway, the rain eased slightly, allowing teams to choose different tire compounds. Both Hannah Grisham in the #26 (starting 12th) and Laura Hayes in the #606 (starting 15th) opted for slicks. However, this tire choice proved problematic during the formation lap as rain resumed.
The race was still allowed to start. By the end of the first lap, Grisham had slipped to 14th, while Hayes advanced to 13th. A full course yellow was called due to the worsening weather, which soon escalated into a red flag for lightning in the area. After a delay of over 30 minutes, the race resumed under full course yellow.
With little time remaining, the mandatory pit stop and driver change occurred under yellow with 13 minutes to go. Patten rejoined in 10th in the #606, while Greenemeier emerged in 13th in the #26. The green flag waved again with 6.5 minutes left. Greenemeier gained one position, but Patten struggled in the damp conditions and dropped back to 14th.
On the second lap after the restart, chaos in the front group on the still-slick surface allowed Greenemeier to move up to 8th. However, on the final lap, she slid off at Turn 1, managed to save the car, but lost several places, ultimately finishing 15th overall and 9th in Silver class.
Patten, meanwhile, received a drive-through penalty for speeding in pit lane and fell to 25th overall and 7th in AM class in the closing stages—missing out on a potential class podium and top-ten finish overall.
Sunday’s race took place under bright sunshine, but heavy overnight rain left the track wet. Patten started from 14th in the #606, while Greenemeier lined up 24th.
Both drivers had clean starts—Patten held position and challenged the class leaders, while Greenemeier gained at least one spot early on. As the race unfolded, both teams gained ground in the overall order, although not yet in class position. Just under 10 minutes in, Dickenson spun into the grass, allowing both cars to gain a position.
Shortly after, there was more chaos at the rear: Greenemeier was involved in a contact at Turn 1; in the incident, she lost her hood. Meanwhile, Patten closed in on the class leader and soon made a move to take the lead.
Greenemeier couldn’t maintain the positions gained in the earlier incident and dropped back to 20th after 18 minutes. However, when several cars ahead made contact—sending the #23 into the alternate pit lane—she capitalized and reclaimed 17th.
With 36 minutes left, Greenemeier was the first to pit. Grisham took over and rejoined in 22nd. One lap later, Patten handed the #606 to Hayes, who rejoined in 18th. As the pit cycle ended, Hayes was confirmed to still be leading the AM class.
A few minutes later, the #39 crashed and became stuck in the tire barrier, triggering a Full Course Yellow. The restart came with just 8 minutes to go, with the second-place AM car now directly behind Hayes.
Grisham had a difficult restart and fell back to 24th before eventually retiring with damage from another contact. Hayes, still leading the class, began to suffer from a fuel pump problem. She quickly dropped to 12th, unable to hold off the competition. Her pace faded, and she fell to 19th overall and 5th in class—extremely unlucky to miss out on podium finishes on both days despite her strong performances.
The disappointment was palpable. “It was not the weekend we were hoping for. The team did a great job preparing a fast car and Hannah (Greenemeier) did an awesome job driving,” said Hannah Grisham. “We just didn't have enough time in Saturday’s race due to the weather hold to gain positions. Then today, we just had some bad luck. We’re already looking ahead to Road America!”
That next race at Road America is scheduled for August 15–17, where both teams hope for better luck—and results—for the women in GT4 America.