PSCNA: Anna Cecchi wraps-up rookie season at Road Atlanta
- LIAM REDFORD
- Sep 15
- 5 min read
Anna Cecchi closed out her rookie season in Porsche Sprint Challenge North America with a top-5 finish in the Road Atlanta finale, where the youngest full-time competitor in the series secured a best result of fourth in the Cayman Pro/Am class, wrapping up a debut campaign full of promise with third in the championship.
Anna Cecchi closed out her rookie season in Porsche Sprint Challenge North America with a top-5 finish in the Road Atlanta finale. The Charlie Hayes Racing driver secured a best result of fourth in the Cayman Pro/Am class during race one as Cecchi contended for a podium finish throughout the contest.
After a first lap incident in race two, Cecchi missed out on securing second position in the championship. However, the young racer still enjoyed a fantastic debut season where she was a consistent frontrunner while developing her racecraft.
Cecchi arrived at Road Atlanta aiming to secure second position in the Cayman Pro/Am championship standings after a season-long battle with Loni Unser. Misfortune in the first race at Watkins Glen, coupled with a victory for the Kellymoss driver, meant that Cecchi and Unser were tied on points ahead of the season finale.
In her rookie season in Porsche Sprint Challenge North America, Cecchi has excelled as the young driver has consistently battled for race victories. At Virginia International Raceway, she became the first driver to claim pole position aside from Jens Hantson and during the campaign, the Charlie Hayes Racing driver has stood on the Cayman Pro/Am class podium on ten occasions.
With Road Atlanta having not previously featured on the calendar for Porsche Sprint Challenge North America, this gave Cecchi further cause for optimism as her lack of experience was set to count for less across the weekend. Cecchi first took to the circuit on Wednesday where she participated in the afternoon test session, setting the fourth fastest time within the Cayman Pro/Am class.
In Thursday’s two free practice sessions, Cecchi completed a total of 41 laps as she continued to learn the circuit and improve her times. Her fastest lap of the day of a 1:27.414 came in the morning session where she was extremely consistent across all three sectors. After ending session one in third position within the Cayman Pro/Am class, Cecchi completed the day with a sixth-place result as the drivers worked on a range of different practice programs.
Qualifying took place early on Friday morning and Cecchi was quickly out on track. This proved a smart move as the Charlie Hayes Racing driver was one of only several drivers who completed a flying lap before William Peluchiwski brought out a red flag.
When the session resumed, improvements continued to be made throughout the field with Cecchi’s quickest time of a 1:27.043 placing her fifth overall, fourth in the Cayman Pro/Am class. Crucially, Anna had completed the fewest laps of any driver inside the top-5 and therefore saved tyre life for the two races which followed.
The opening race at Road Atlanta took place on Friday afternoon with Cecchi aiming to make progress from fifth on the overall grid. From the third row, it was a good start for the Charlie Hayes Racing driver who held her position while ensuring Cayman Masters driver Bill Fenech was unable to move ahead. Fenech made a fast start and began to apply pressure to Cecchi, while Anna was now directly behind Cayman Masters leader Keith Grant who had slipped behind Loni Unser at the start.
Cecchi was therefore keen to pass Grant in order to get on terms with her championship rival in the battle for second position in the Cayman Pro/Am class standings. At the end of lap two, Cecchi’s margin to Fenech had grown to one second and this allowed her to focus forward on newcomer Grant. The Otto Werks driver was displaying excellent speed in the final sector and as a result, it was challenging for Cecchi to make a move.
Cecchi’s strength came in the first sector and on lap five, Anna was the second fastest driver on track in pursuit of a spot on the Cayman Pro/Am class podium. Cecchi continued to extend her margin to Fenech behind, while she remained in touch with Grant who was directly behind Unser and Erika Hoffmann who ran in second position. This quartet were all exchanging fast sector times with Cecchi regularly the fastest through the first part of the circuit.
As the race passed the midway point, Cecchi remained in fifth position overall, fourth in class, while the battle for second between Unser and Hoffmann intensified. As a result, both Cecchi and Grant closed in and Fenech also joined the group once more. The leading group then began to make inroads on Hantson’s lead and with the pace increased, Cecchi’s gap to Fenech extended.
With five minutes of the race remaining, Cody Knight overtook Fenech and the JDX Racing driver was now the fastest car on track as he began to catch Cecchi. After closing to within a quarter of a second, Knight got a good run out of turn seven and he was able to complete the pass into turn 10 to move into fifth overall. Misfortune then struck for overall leader Hantson as his car slowed on the approach to turn 11 and this resulted in Hoffmann claiming the race lead.
Cecchi’s position also improved as she reclaimed fifth overall, fourth within the Cayman Pro/Am class. With Hantson’s car requiring recovery, the race entered a full course yellow period and with only two minutes remaining, race one ended behind the safety car. Cecchi took the chequered flag in fourth within the Cayman Pro/Am class, just missing out on a position on the podium. With Unser having finished second, Cecchi was now looking for a strong race two in order to reclaim second position in the championship standings.
The second race at Road Atlanta was held early on Saturday morning with Cecchi again starting from fifth overall, fourth within the Cayman Pro/Am class. As the drivers approached turn one, Cecchi looked for a move on championship rival Loni Unser. Cecchi attempted a late-braking move and was unable to complete the pass as she spun on the apex of the corner, before collecting the Cayman Masters machine of Bill Fenech.
Cecchi was able to rejoin the race, however Fenech’s car hit the barriers on the exit of the first turn and the recovery of his car necessitated a full course yellow period. As a result of the incident, there was damage to Cecchi’s car and she pulled into the pits to receive attention from her Charlie Hayes Racing team. Good work from the crew after two separate stops allowed Cecchi to rejoin the race on the lead lap, while Anna ran in 15th place overall, seventh within the Cayman Pro/Am class.
The race resumed with twenty-minutes remaining and due to the first lap incident, Cecchi was assigned a stop + 60 penalty. Cecchi served her penalty following the conclusion of the first green flag lap and therefore fell a lap in arrears. Anna rejoined the race among the Cayman Masters runners and from there she enjoyed close battles alongside her more experienced rivals.
While fighting with Reginald Tartaglione on lap 13, Cecchi had a spin at turn two and was able to rejoin the race without further incident. The Charlie Hayes Racing driver showed great determination through the second half of the contest with her lap times regularly matching those inside the top-6. Cecchi took the chequered flag in 15th position overall, seventh within the Cayman Pro/Am class, to complete a challenging second race at Road Atlanta.
Despite a difficult end to the season, Cecchi’s debut campaign in Porsche Sprint Challenge North America was full of promise. As the youngest full-time competitor in the series, Cecchi was able to learn from her teammates and progress throughout the campaign.
Anna was a regular frontrunner and she will now be aiming to use this knowledge to continue her motorsport career at the highest possible level.
