Taylor Hagler returned for her third weekend in ADAC GT Masters – and enjoyed a brilliant qualifying session in wet conditions, before securing her third consecutive ProAm podium and another overall top-10 finish at Red Bull Ring.
Two-time IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge champion Taylor Hagler returned to Europe for her third weekend in the ADAC GT Masters, as the series headed to Red Bull Ring, Austria, for its penultimate round.
Hagler made her European GT3 debut at the season opener at Oschersleben, securing a 14th place finish while sharing the Grasser Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2 with Jannik Julius-Bernhart. The American racer had to miss the following two rounds at Zandvoort and Nürburgring due to clashing commitments with the IMSA calendar but returned behind the wheel of the #19 Lamborghini at Spa Francorchamps – a circuit she had previously raced on in the GT4 European Championship.
Alongside Austrian racer Gerhard Tweraser, the duo scored an overall top ten and two top-three finishes in ProAm, marking Hagler’s first European podiums.
Aiming to carry momentum after such a remarkable result, Hagler tackled the world-renowned Red Bull Ring in the Styrian mountains, this time partnering with French up-and-coming racer Loris Cabirou.
The home weekend of the Austrian racing team started off challenging but promising. Heavy rain on Friday marked the practice sessions, leading to two red flags. Nevertheless, Hagler and Cabirou quickly found pace, finishing both sessions in the top six overall.
On Saturday morning, mixed weather created tricky conditions for Q1, with a drying line. Taylor Hagler was in the car for the first qualifying session of the weekend, posting a strong first lap of 1:38.992, placing her sixth overall and fourth in ProAm.
In the changeable conditions, the choice of wet-weather tyres proved key. With two Audis leading ProAm, Taylor held P5 before the session was red-flagged with two minutes to go due to Pedro Ebrahim going off into the gravel.
Unable to improve in the final runs when the session resumed, Hagler finished P10 overall and 5th in class, outqualifying much of the grid. Starting fifth overall and second in ProAm, her superb qualifying performance gave the Texan a strong opportunity in Race 1.
After a rainy start to the race weekend, the track dried out just in time for Saturday's race in the afternoon. Max Reis (Mercedes-AMG GT3, Haupt Racing Team) led the overall grid, followed by Finn Wiebelhaus (Mercedes-AMG GT3, Haupt Racing Team) and Max Hofer (Audi R8 GT3 EVO II, Wolf-Power Racing). Taylor Hagler started from fifth overall after her impressive qualifying session.
Due to the cold temperatures, an additional formation lap was added to allow the drivers to warm up their tyres and brakes. The race began with a dramatic lead change to Wiebelhaus, a chaotic start, and several cars spinning at Turn 1. Hagler had a solid start, settling into P10 but was under significant pressure.
She maintained her rhythm, losing ground to some Silver Cup cars but holding steady in 5th for ProAm, posting some of her best sector times of the weekend. By lap 5, she was P6 in class and 15th overall.
By lap 10, Hagler was P17 overall but still 6th in class, showing consistent improvement in her lap times and outpacing ProAm competitors Tweraser and Hull.
As Tweraser closed in on Hagler, they matched each other's lap times, but Taylor displayed excellent defensive driving, holding off challenges from the Emil Frey Ferrari of Jean-Luc D'Auria and the Porsche of Tweraser. Her solid second-sector times helped her keep her position.
The pit window opened with 35 minutes remaining: Hagler pitted on lap 15 from 6th in class and handed over the car to Loris Cabirou. Unfortunately, the GRT Grasser team faced a penalty for a short pit stop time.
Cabirou rejoined the race, holding 6th in ProAm and climbing back to 13th overall, passing Bulatov and Coseteng with a strong pace in the 1:30s. On lap 23, he overtook Florian Blatter for a ProAm position, moving back into the top five in class.
Now 10 seconds behind Juliano Holzem, Cabirou closed the gap, running nearly two seconds per lap faster than the 4th and 3rd-placed ProAm cars of Schumm and Schwarzer.
The Frenchman passed Holzem when he ran wide through the gravel on lap 26 and set a personal best, closing in on Oosten and Schumm. While he initially struggled to pass the #54 BMW M4 GT3, Cebirou eventually moved up to ninth overall on lap 33, setting a personal best of 1:30.5 and passing Schumm for 4th in class.
With 3 minutes left, Cabirou caught and overtook Pach Auto Tech’s Schwarzer for third in ProAm and eighth overall. Despite a 7-second gap to Dennis Fetzer, the GRT Grasser Lamborghini gained ground but couldn't catch the car ahead, who was also charging to pass Ernst Kirchmayr.
The #79 Mercedes won ProAm ahead of the Ferrari, with Cabirou and Hagler finishing third in ProAm and eighth overall. It was Hagler’s third consecutive class podium in the GT Masters and another overall top-10 finish – a brilliant result despite the penalty.
Fittje/Wiebelhaus won the race for Haupt Racing Team (Mercedes-AMG GT3), followed by Owega/Schumacher (Mercedes-AMG GT3, Haupt Racing Team), and Seppänen/Kalender (Mercedes-AMG GT3, Landgraf Motorsport).
On Sunday, Balance of Performance adjustments were made: the Lamborghinis initially had 10 kg of weight added, but after qualifying, another 15 kg was added, totaling a 25 kg weight increase.
In Q2, Loris Loris Cabirou took charge in the second qualifying session on a sunnier day in Austria. Cabirou’s first competitive time placed the #19 Lamborghini P3 overall and on provisional ProAm pole with a 1:29.909. In the final five minutes, Cabirou improved to 1:29.6, dropping to P10 overall but maintaining ProAm pole. Despite finding more pace, his 1:29.013 lap was deleted for track limits, leaving him P12 overall and P3 in ProAm.
In Sunday’s second and final race, Cabirou started from third in ProAm and 12th overall. He lost a couple of overall positions early on but held third in class, trailing behind Fetzer and Hantke.
He tried to close the gap to Mokoena’s Mercedes but couldn’t make progress, and the team’s race was cut short due to mechanical issues. Cabirou pitted on lap 5, rejoined a lap down, and eventually returned to the garage, ending the race early.
Ahead, Elias Seppänen defended his lead from Alain Valente and Maxime Oosten. With 25 minutes remaining, the pit window opened, and drivers handed over their cars to their teammates. A massive crash involving Hubert Haupt ultimately brought out the red flag, ending the race early. Thankfully, Haupt was unhurt.
In the end, Kalender/Seppänen won the race ahead of D’Auria/Valente (Ferrari 296 GT3, Emil Frey Racing) and Köhler/Oosten (BMW M4 GT3, FK Performance Motorsport).
Despite the early end to Race 2, Taylor Hagler enjoyed another positive weekend in the ADAC GT Masters, collecting her third ProAm podium and another overall top-10 finish, highlighted by Saturday’s qualifying.
Hagler will now turn her focus to the season finale of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge from October 9-11 at Road Atlanta, before returning to ADAC GT Masters for the final round at Hockenheimring on October 19-20.
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