PSCNA: Therese Lahlouh banks valuable points in Watkins Glen triple-header

Therese Lahlouh secured a pair of sixth-place results in the 992 Pro/Am class in the latest round of Porsche Sprint Challenge North America at Watkins Glen, where she enjoyed fantastic battles on her way to a pair of overall top-10 results, banking valuable championship points across the three races.

Photo credits: Colin McCarty

JDX Racing driver Therese Lahlouh secured a pair of sixth-place results in the 992 Pro/Am class in the latest round of Porsche Sprint Challenge North America. Across the three races held at Watkins Glen, Lahlouh enjoyed fantastic battles on her way to a pair of overall top-10 results. Lahlouh’s best performance came in the final race of the weekend where she took the chequered flag in eighth position overall, sixth in class.

Lahlouh arrived at Watkins Glen looking to return to form after a disrupted weekend of racing last time out at Road America. Inclement weather led to race one being postponed, before Therese fought a tyre issue in the second contest as the drivers experienced their first wet race of the campaign. Nonetheless, Lahlouh’s speed in dry conditions was strong and she was looking forward to a triple-header at one of America’s most iconic circuits.

Lahlouh enjoyed a fantastic weekend at Watkins Glen last season as she stood on the podium in the 992 Pro/Am class. After starting 14^th overall following an unrepresentative qualifying session, the JDX Racing driver charged through to finish eighth in race one, before she took a significant step forward in race two. Therese regularly lapped on-par with those inside the overall top-5, before taking the chequered flag in ninth position overall, third in class to end her weekend.

Friday’s action at Watkins Glen began with two free practice sessions with the first of which held in cool and wet conditions. With no further rain in the forecast, Lahlouh sat out this session, along with the majority of her rivals, as they instead turned their attentions to the second session.

In free practice two, the track was extremely busy as the drivers acclimatised themselves with the challenging circuit. This was the only practice session held in dry conditions prior to the opening race and therefore track time was important ahead of the triple-header. Lahlouh completed 19 laps, the second-highest of any driver, with her fastest time of a 1:50.448 placing the JDX Racing driver in 12^th position overall, ninth within the 992 Pro/Am class.

The first competitive action of the weekend took place on Friday afternoon where the make-up race from Road America took place. Grid positions were based on the second fastest times set during qualifying last time out and therefore Lahlouh lined up from 11^th overall, sixth within the 992 Pro/Am class.

Photo credits: Colin McCarty

As the lights went out, Therese made a fast start and immediately moved ahead of both Laura Ely and Todd Treffert through turn one. In front of her, the drivers were racing three-wide and this enabled Lahlouh to get a good run through the Esses. At the conclusion of the first lap, Therese had moved her JDX Racing machine into ninth position overall, while holding sixth in the 992 Pro/Am class.

On lap two, Lahlouh’s time through sector one was the second quickest of anyone and this enabled her to close in on Reinhold Krahn who was between her and the next 992 Pro/Am runner. Lahlouh then settled into a rhythm as she attempted to pull away from Treffert who was remaining close behind. A personal best time on lap four saw Therese close in on the group ahead as she was faster than the next three drivers.

Lahlouh’s pace through the first sector remained extremely strong as the race approached halfway, however Treffert was just half a second behind. The overall top-10 had pulled out a sizeable gap on the rest of the field, while Lahlouh remained in contention for a podium finish within the 992 Pro/Am class. On lap 11, Treffert closed to within a quarter of a second and this forced the JDX Racing driver to defend her position through the opening turn to keep the CRP Racing driver at bay.

After successfully protecting her position, the first full course yellow period of the race was required on lap 14 as Francisco De Jesus had made contact with the barriers at the Inner Loop. When the race resumed, Lahlouh did an excellent job to negotiate the lapped car of Nicholas Groombridge as she made a bold move to the outside of the Chute.

With just a couple of laps remaining, the race was neutralised for a second time after Grady Willingham had crashed in a similar place to De Jesus with significant damage to his Goldcrest Motorsports machine. As a result, the race ended behind the safety car with Lahlouh banking valuable championship points for a ninth-place overall finish, sixth in the 992 Pro/Am class.

Photo credits: Colin McCarty

Saturday’s action began with qualifying ahead of the two scheduled races as part of the regular Watkins Glen event. Lahlouh participated in the first of two sessions and she set the fastest time of her weekend so far. Her quickest lap of a 1:49.483 placed her in sixth position within Group A, while Lahlouh was the fourth fastest driver in the 992 Pro/Am class. Following the conclusion of Group B, Lahlouh ended qualifying in 12^th position overall, eighth among the 992 Pro/Am class runners.

On Saturday afternoon, the drivers lined up for the first race based upon the qualifying results from earlier in the day. Lahlouh started from the sixth row of the grid in 12^th overall, eighth in class, and she was looking for another fast start. Lahlouh made an excellent getaway and her anticipation enabled her to shape for a three-wide move into turn one. Following a superb late-braking manoeuvre, Therese overtook Joel Johnson and moved into 11^th overall, while remaining eighth in the 992 Pro/Am class.

Lahlouh’s momentum also brought her closer to class rival Tony Malito and she applied pressure to the Fall-Line Motorsports driver. Therese was showing excellent speed in the early stages of the race and she ran directly behind Malito and Kayden Kelly as Lahlouh looked to move up the order. By lap three, her gap to Johnson behind was up to one second and this enabled her to focus on the drivers ahead.

After just losing touch with Malito, a battle emerged ahead of Lahlouh which brought her in contention once again. Both Malito and Kelly had caught Matthew Siegal and Lahlouh’s JDX Racing teammate was now the next car ahead. With Siegal also racing in the 992 Pro/Am class, Lahlouh was keen to remain close to her rival as the race then entered a mid-race rhythm.

The group of drivers ahead began breaking clear as they set a series of fast lap times which rivalled those inside the overall top-5. Lahlouh’s gap to Johnson behind remained at around one second as she protected her 11^th position overall, eighth in class.

After a quiet period during the second half of the race, a spin for Evan Hinkle ahead saw Lahlouh move into seventh within the 992 Pro/Am class. Hinkle rejoined just behind Lahlouh and the TPC Racing driver quickly applied pressure to Therese as he looked to fight back from his earlier error. After closing in, Hinkle made his move on lap 17 and as a result, Johnson was able to close onto the tail of the JDX Racing driver.

In the closing stages of the race, Lahlouh did a superb job to remain in contention with Hinkle who was unable to break clear. Lahlouh kept the margin under a second, before mounting a late-race challenge on her fellow 992 Pro/Am class driver. Crossing the line just three tenths of a second behind her rival, Lahlouh took the chequered flag in 11^th position overall, eighth in class.

Photo credits: Colin McCarty

For the final race of the weekend on Sunday morning, Lahlouh lined up from 12^th on the overall grid, eighth in the 992 Pro/Am class. As the lights went out and the drivers approached turn one, Therese placed her car well as she looked to move forward. Just ahead of her, contact involving John Gilliland led to a multi-car incident with five cars receiving significant damage and were unable to continue.

Lahlouh did a nice job to move into ninth overall, seventh in class, as the race entered a lengthy full course yellow period. With a number of cars requiring recovery, the neutralisation was extensive and the race resumed with just fifteen-minutes left on the clock. When the green flag was displayed,

Lahlouh was keen to move forward and she quickly applied pressure to Scott Blind ahead. Class rival Evan Hinkle was then awarded a ten-second post-race penalty for a start infringement and therefore remaining close to the TPC Racing driver was a top priority.

Just behind her, David Musial Jr was looking for a way through as he looked to recover from a difficult start to the race. On lap seven, Musial Jr ran just a quarter of a second behind Lahlouh and after getting a good run through the Esses, he shaped for a move into the Inner Loop. Lahlouh defended her position well and ensured the JTR Motorsports Engineering machine remained behind.

Lahlouh continued to place her car smartly to ensure she retained her seventh position within the 992 Pro/Am class. On lap 10, she was able to extend her margin to Musial Jr to half a second and after doubling her advantage on the following lap, Lahlouh began closing in on Blind and Hinkle. After the Ruckus Racing driver moved ahead on lap 14, Therese closed onto the rear of Hinkle and this stack up led to Musial Jr applying the pressure to Lahlouh once more.

On the penultimate lap of the race, Musial Jr ran just a quarter of a second behind with Lahlouh continuing to attack Hinkle as well as defend from her fellow 992 Pro/Am class driver. Lahlouh mounted a good final lap challenge on Hinkle and although she was unable to pass the TPC Racing driver on the track, following his penalty Therese was classified in eighth place overall, sixth within the 992 Pro/Am class.

Lahlouh enjoyed a consistent weekend of racing at Watkins Glen where the JDX Racing driver banked valuable championship points across the three races. Her race starts were particularly impressive and this ensured she continued to battle for top-5 class positions across the event. After a successful season in Porsche Sprint Challenge North America, Lahlouh will be aiming to end the campaign on a high when the drivers visit Road Atlanta for the season finale on the weekend of 13^th/14^th September.