"The teamwork was fantastic, and we showed that with two podium finishes." - Taylor Hagler secured her first European podiums with two impressive ProAm class finishes at the ADAC GT Masters at Spa-Francorchamps, demonstrating strong performance in her debut GT3 season in Europe.
Taylor Hagler delivered a fantastic performance and secured a pair of podium finishes in the ProAm class of the ADAC GT Masters at Spa-Francorchamps, marking her maiden podiums on European soil.
Hagler, a two-time TCR champion in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, embarked on her first international campaign last year, combining her IMSA schedule with the highly competitive European GT4 Championship. After making significant progress over the season, Hagler has now stepped up to GT3 with her first participation in the prestigious ADAC GT Masters.
While the Texan is no GT3 rookie—having finished runner-up and rookie of the year in the 2021 GT World Challenge America ProAm category—her European venture represents a whole new level of competition, on circuits she is learning weekend after weekend.
At the first round at Oschersleben, Germany, Hagler made significant improvements throughout the weekend, securing a P14 as her best result while sharing the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 operated by top team GRT Grasser Racing, with Jannik Julius-Bernhart.
Hagler then missed the following two rounds at Zandvoort and Nürburgring due to clashes with her IMSA Pilot Challenge program, where she currently sits seventh in the drivers' standings. However, she returned to Europe for the fourth round at Spa-Francorchamps, a circuit she had only visited once last year in GT4 Europe.
The Belgian round marked the second weekend of the new endurance format, which debuted at the Nürburgring. The new format features an 80-minute endurance race comprising three stints with two mandatory pitstops—a shorter one and a longer one—followed by a sprint race with a single driver change.
Taylor Hagler's return to the ADAC GT Masters also saw a change in the GRT Grasser Racing team's lineup, as she teamed up with Austrian racer Gerhard Tweraser in a ProAm entry.
In Saturday's qualifying, Hagler showed plenty of potential and made significant improvements. While she couldn't quite put her best sectors together in Q1, she finished the session 18th overall and fourth in ProAm, showcasing promising speed, particularly in the first sector.
At the start of the longer Race 1, the pack was led by Elias Seppänen (Landgraf Motorsport, Mercedes-AMG G13), followed by Alain Valente (Emil Frey Racing, Ferrari 296 GT3), and Benjamin Hites (GRT Grasser Racing Team, Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO 2).
Straight after the start, Taylor Hagler showed good pace, taking the wheel for the opening stint in the #19 gold-liveried Lamborghini. She stayed in the pack, applying pressure to the cars ahead.
There was plenty of great racing action throughout the field; only 15 minutes into the race, Gregory De Sybourg went off and picked up suspension damage, leading to a safety car phase. The pit window opening was therefore delayed, which played in Hagler's favor, as the field bunched up again, moving her up to P17 overall, retaining fourth in class.
With a few penalties ahead, she just needed to run with the pack - and did so in one of her best GT3 stints to date. The pit window opened after the race went back to green and Taylor pitted from P17 overall and P4 in class on lap 11, completed the longer pit stop, and handed over to Tweraser. Unfortunately, with 49 minutes left on the clock, they were handed a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane.
However, Tweraser moved up to P15 overall and P3 in class, passing Hantke with 43 minutes to go. Meanwhile, there was a change in the lead: Schwarzer (Fach Auto Tech) took the lead, ahead of Schumm (Karklys, Liqui Moly Team Engstler By NordVPN), and Kalender.
That quickly changed again when Wiebelhaus (Fittje, Haupt Racing Team) and Owega (Schumacher, Haupt Racing Team) moved into the top three.
Tweraser, meanwhile, kept moving up in a stellar stint; when Schumm dropped down after pulling off the track at turn 1, Tweraser moved to P12 overall and P2 in ProAm. With great traffic management, Tweraser navigated through the field, reaching P11 overall when Owega hit trouble and pitted.
Continuing to pick up positions, Tweraser passed the sister GRT Lamborghini of Zimmermann, moving up to seventh overall by lap 23. He was now second in ProAm and in a strong position for a class podium.
At the second pit window, with 20 minutes to go, Tweraser ran as high as second overall and in the ProAm lead when the class-leading #4 Fach Auto Tech Porsche pitted for the second time. The #19 Lamborghini pitted on lap 27, with Taylor Hagler emerging in the class lead after the pit stop. She then had the big task of holding on in the final 10 minutes amidst close racing action throughout the field.
Hagler found herself fourth overall with a chance to defend against Fach's Porsche. Fach eventually passed her despite her strong defense, and her focus shifted to fending off Chandler Hull for second. Unfortunately, she was just a couple of laps short of that, as she dropped to P3.
On the final lap, however, Fach's car encountered issues from the lead, allowing Taylor to move back up to second and into the overall top ten, finishing in P9.
It was a remarkable result for the GTR Grasser Racing duo, giving Hagler her first European podium.
The race was won overall by Seppännen/Kalendar (Landgraf Racing), followed by Alain Valente/Jean-Luc D’Auria (Emil Frey Racing) in second place. Bulatov/Ortmann (Walkenhorst Motorsport) completed the podium.
On Sunday morning, it was Tweraser's turn to qualify for the shorter Race 2. He qualified P6, the first of the Lamborghinis in Q2, despite a red flag with five minutes to go. He found a good lap on his last run, securing second in ProAm.
The 40-minute sprint race saw Jean-Luc D'Auria (Ferrari 296 GT3, Emil Frey Racing) starting from pole, ahead of Nico Hantke (Aston Martin Vantage GT3, Walkenhorst Motorsport) and Tom Kalender (Mercedes-AMG GT3, Landgraf Motorsport).
Gerhard Tweraser was the elected driver to take the start in Race 2, starting from P2 in
ProAm.
Immediately after the start, two cars came into contact, which, like the day before, led to a safety car phase. Tweraser dropped to ninth as he had to avoid the accident at La Source, but smart driving allowed him to retain the ProAm lead shortly after, as Hantke, previously the class leader, went off at turn 11.
The race restarted with 30 minutes to go, and Tweraser immediately began making up ground, settling in P10 overall. The pit window opened with 25 minutes remaining; Tweraser stayed out, trying to put pressure on Mokoena. Many drivers pitted, but the Austrian went longer, reaching the overall lead with 17 minutes to go before pitting towards the end of the window.
Taylor Hagler took over in the lead as she exited the pits with 13 minutes to go.
While she lost out to Seppanen and faced pressure from a big group of fast cars behind, she battled fiercely; Oosten passed her for overall position, but she focused on Karklys and Fach for ProAm class position.
Despite strong defense, Fach eventually got through with eight minutes to go. Taylor defended well and attempted to respond into La Source, but they switched back and Karklys then sneaked past into Les Combes.
Despite this, Hagler put on an incredible defense, holding on to sixth overall and third in ProAm, continuing to battle with David Schumacher and Jannes Fittje in one of her best GT3 drives. She continued setting personal best sectors towards the end, battling with the PROsport Aston Martins in the final laps, holding off Rennhofer to take the checkered flag in P3 in ProAm and P12 overall.
It was a positive return to ADAC GT Masters, showcasing great fighting spirit in a weekend full of learning. "We had a really good weekend here at Spa," a satisfied Hagler commented. "I hadn't been in the car in the ADAC GT Masters for quite a while and had a new teammate here in Gerhard."
"The teamwork was fantastic, and we showed that with two podium finishes. I've only been to this demanding track once before in my career and learnt a lot at the weekend," Hagler explained. "I think we've made good progress, and I'm already looking forward to GRT's home race at the Red Bull Ring."
Seppänen/Kalender (Landgraf Motorsport) took the checkered flag first but were later demoted to sixth after a 15-second penalty for the crash on the opening lap. Oosten/Köhler (BMW M4 GT3, FK Performance Motorsport) were therefore promoted to overall race winners, ahead of ProAm winners Fach/Schwarzer (Porsche 911 GT3 R 992, Fach Auto Tech).
The ADAC GT Masters will next head to the Red Bull Ring in Austria for the penultimate round on September 27-29. Hagler will return to the US for the penultimate IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on September 20-21, before rejoining the GRT team for its home race in the ADAC GT Masters.
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