Therese Lahlouh achieves two sixth-place results at Virginia International Raceway

Therese Lahlouh continued her strong season in Porsche Sprint Challenge North America with a pair of sixth-place results in the 992 ProAm category, raced smartly to back up a fifth-place qualifying effort with two good races and banked vital points at a challenging circuit.

Photo credits: Colin McCarty

Competing at Virginia International Raceway for the first time, Therese Lahlouh continued her strong season in Porsche Sprint Challenge North America with a pair of sixth-place results in the 992 ProAm category.

The JDX Racing driver gained significant knowledge of the circuit throughout the weekend raced smartly to back up a fifth-place qualifying effort with two good races. Enjoying close battles throughout the midfield, Lahlouh consolidated her top-5 position within the championship at the halfway stage of the season.

After achieving her largest haul of points in the opening three rounds to date at Circuit of the Americas, Therese moved up to fourth place in the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America 992 Pro/Am championship standings. Lahlouh achieved her second top-5 finish of the season in race two and then led laps in the inaugural Porsche Endurance Challenge North America event to gain vital experience in a highly competitive field of drivers.

Prior to track action taking place, it was announced that Therese was selected to be part of the Porsche Mobil 1 Female Driver Program North America, a notable accolade for the JDX Racing driver.

The race weekend at Virginia International Raceway got underway with a series of test sessions, following by two official free practices on Friday. Lahlouh improved her lap times as she gained more confidence in the car at a challenging circuit to learn. Setting a time of 1:51.692 in Friday’s opening session, the JDX Racing driver was fourth fastest in class and was targeting a top-5 starting position heading into qualifying.

Saturday morning saw the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America drivers take to the track for qualifying. It was a session of improvement for Therese who slowly worked on her lap times as the session progressed. This resulted in the JDX Racing driver setting her quickest time on the final lap of the session, with this lap placing her 13th overall and fifth in class. Lahlouh’s time of a 1:51.665 was three hundredths of a second quicker than her best time from Friday’s practice session.

Race one of the weekend took place on Saturday afternoon with Therese starting from 13th position, fifth in class. It was a confident start from the JDX Racing driver who moved up one overall position at the conclusion of lap one. Now running behind the 991 class car of Tony Malito, Lahlouh was looking to use the advantage of her 992 machine to move ahead. On lap seven, Therese was able to make the move and now had a recovering Ashley Freiberg on her tail.

Lahlouh defended well from the overall race winner from Circuit of the Americas, holding down a top-5 position for a number of laps despite being under considerable pressure. Freiberg found a way through on lap ten, but Lahlouh was determined to gain positions in the closing stages. Overtaking Jody Miller on lap 13, she quickly caught the 991 class car of Niels Meissner.

Just running out of time to make a move, Therese’s 11th place overall result was improved to tenth following a penalty for Meissner, with Lahlouh classified in sixth position within the 992 ProAm class.

The second race of the weekend was held on Sunday with Therese starting from 13th overall, sixth in the 992 ProAm class. Lahlouh made a good start and jumped two positions at the conclusion of lap one, while moving inside the top-5 within class after a spin for Ashley Freiberg. In the early portion of the race, Therese defended well from 992 Masters driver Scott Blind, before her rival found a way through on lap five.

A recovering Freiberg was now closing in and the Kellymoss driver overtook Lahlouh on lap six. Nonetheless, Therese settled in behind her and immediately set the fastest sectors of her race to date.

On lap eight, Lahlouh was able to overtake the 991 class car of Tony Malito and with clean air ahead of her, she now set a personal best time. The group of drivers ahead were now battling hard for position and this enabled Therese to quickly close in and plan her route to the top-10.

During the second half of the race, Lahlouh ran in this competitive train of cars but was unable to make any further progress around the tight and technical Virginia International Raceway. Crossing the line to end race two in 12th position overall, sixth in class, it was a productive weekend for Therese at a new circuit to her.

Therese will be encouraged by her performances at Virginia International Raceway as she banked vital points at a challenging new circuit. Just missing out on a top-5 finish within 992 ProAm, Lahlouh will be aiming to push forward during the next round of Porsche Sprint Challenge North America which takes place at Watkins Glen on the weekend of 6th/7th July.