Toyota GR Cup NA: Maite Caceres and Ava Schletz share top female awards at Sonoma
- RACERS
- 2 hours ago
- 5 min read
Maite Cáceres and Ava Schletz shared the top female honors at Sonoma after a weekend of steady progress in the second round of the Toyota GR Cup North America, while Paityn Feyen rebounded from earlier setbacks with a strong recovery drive in Race 2.
The second round of the Toyota GR86 Cup North America season at Sonoma Raceway proved to be a weekend of steady progress and recovery drives for the female drivers on the field, with RAFA Racing’s Maite Caceres, and Eagles Canyon with Fast Track Racing’s Ava Schletz sharing the Top Female finisher awards.
Alongside Paityn Feyen (Copeland Motorsports), the three women continued their development in one of the most competitive single-make GT fields in North American racing, showcasing improved pace and growing confidence at the first permanent circuit of the season following the dramatic street-race opener at Arlington.
With a brilliant debut at Arlington Street Circuit, Maite Caceres had secured a P12 finish despite no previous experience of the Toyota GR86 car; the Uruguayan star now arrived at Sonoma aiming to build momentum. Meanwhile, the season opener had proven more challenging for Paityn Feyen and rookie Ava Schletz: Feyen’s weekend had been disrupted by a heavy crash that sidelined her for Race 2, while 17-year-old Schletz impressed in the midfield before contact ended her race while she was leading the female classification in Race 2. Sonoma therefore represented a reset opportunity for all three drivers.
The opening practice session was interrupted by a red flag with 15 minutes remaining, preventing drivers from completing full programs as the clock continued running and the session could not resume. Feyen ended the session as the quickest of the trio in P21, just ahead of Schletz in P22, while Caceres was unable to fully optimise her run plan and finished P26.
Significant progress however followed in FP2. Caceres made a major step forward, breaking into the 1:53 range and climbing into the top 15 during the session. Schletz also found substantial improvement, setting a 1:53.9 lap to move into the top 20, while Feyen joined both drivers under the 1:54 barrier. Another late red flag again curtailed track time, but the gains were evident: Caceres finished P17, Feyen P19, and Schletz P22, with all three drivers dramatically reducing the gap to the front.
Saturday morning qualifying saw continued improvements as the field tightened considerably.
Schletz initially set the benchmark among the trio with a 1:53.0 lap for P21, narrowly ahead of Caceres’ 1:53.3. Feyen followed closely with a 1:53.2 effort for P23, highlighting how competitive the midfield had become, with the trio now just over two seconds from pole.
On her final attempt, Caceres made a strong improvement to a 1:52.820, jumping to P20 overall and securing the position of highest-placed female driver on the grid. She lined up just ahead of Schletz in P21, while Feyen qualified P24.
Race 1 began with Caceres starting P20, Schletz alongside in P21, and Feyen forced to start from the pit lane after serving a carry-over penalty from Arlington.
At the green flag, Caceres made an excellent launch to gain a position immediately, moving into P19 as Schletz was briefly boxed in and dropped positions before recovering one place by the end of the opening lap. Feyen began her recovery from P27, quickly passing Araujo before also moving past Schletz as she advanced through the field.
Caceres became locked in a tight midfield battle with Sunseri and Ryan Power, running consistently within tenths while lowering her lap times into the 1:54 range. Feyen meanwhile showed strong pace, posting a 1:54.1 lap to climb to P22 and closing on the cars ahead, while Schletz steadily improved and set a personal best of 1:54.2 on lap 11 to rejoin the fight.
Caceres produced her strongest lap of the race with a 1:53.922 as she defended against Power while continuing to pressure Sunseri ahead. The trio of female drivers gradually converged into the same battle group before Feyen’s race ended prematurely on lap 14 due to an accident that caused front suspension damage, triggering the race’s first neutralisation.
Following the restart, intense three-wide action unfolded between Sunseri, Caceres and Power. Navigating the chaos cleanly, Caceres gained positions and climbed to P18, while Schletz capitalised on incidents ahead to move into P19. Both drivers then advanced further after another competitor spun, as the battle for Best Placed Female award intensified.
In the closing laps both drivers ran competitive 1:53.9 pace, closing once again on the cars ahead. Caceres ultimately crossed the line in P17 overall, securing the female classification award by just two tenths over Schletz, who completed an impressive rookie drive in P18.
Sunday morning’s second qualifying session produced a breakthrough moment for Ava Schletz.
Delivering her strongest lap of the weekend, she posted a 1:52.303 to secure P14 on the grid, in her best qualifying result to date and a major step forward in only her second race weekend.
Maite Caceres qualified P22 with a 1:53.108, while Feyen returned to the grid in P24 after a great team effort by the Copeland Motorsports team following Saturday’s damage.
Race 2 began cleanly, with Schletz holding position from P14 while Caceres slotted into P24 just ahead of Feyen. Early laps featured an intense duel between the two, with Feyen executing a strong move at the Carousel to move ahead.
A full-course yellow on lap three briefly neutralised the race before competitive pack racing resumed. Schletz held P15 amid heavy midfield battles, setting a personal best of 1:54.1 despite running in traffic.
Behind, Feyen demonstrated excellent recovery pace, breaking into the 1:53 range and passing Liam Harrison to climb into the top 20, the biggest positional gain among the trio. Caceres also improved steadily, recording laps in the 1:53.8 range as she pressured the cars ahead.
As the race progressed, Schletz found clear air and delivered her strongest stint of the weekend, improving again to a 1:53.5 while defending confidently from late pressure. She crossed the line in P17 overall, earning her first Best Placed Female Driver award and ending Caceres’ early-season dominance in the category.
Paityn Feyen completed a determined recovery drive to finish P21, narrowly missing the top 20 after starting deep in the field, while Caceres finished P22 following a consistent second-half run despite being unable to find a way past in the tightly packed midfield and on a track difficult to pass.
By the end of the Sonoma weekend, both Caceres and Schletz had therefore shared the female top-finisher honours, while Feyen demonstrated strong recovery pace after a difficult start to her season. All three drivers showed measurable progress in pace and racecraft at the demanding Californian venue.
With confidence building and performance trends pointing upward, the trio now look ahead to Round 3 at Circuit of the Americas in Austin on April 24–26, where they will aim to convert growing speed into further gains up the order.
