Black Sheep Racing's Laura Ely secured her fifth podium of the Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West season at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, bouncing back from an unfortunate first race to clinch third in Race 2, maintaining third in the championship standings.
Black Sheep Racing's Laura Ely returned behind the wheel of her Porsche 992 GT3 Cup car for the latest round of the Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West by Yokohama series at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, where she claimed the fifth podium finish of the season in the 992 Master class.
The USA West series commenced at Spring Mountain racetrack in Nevada, where Ely delivered an outstanding performance. In Race 1, she secured a remarkable overall and class victory, starting from third on the grid. Race 2 saw her starting from P10, but she impressively recovered to finish seventh overall and second in the 992 Master category, marking a highly competitive debut weekend for the Black Sheep Racing driver.
The second round took place at the Circuit of the Americas, in conjunction with the Sprint Challenge North America championship, presenting a highly competitive grid.
In Race 1, Ely finished fifth overall and second in class, again making up positions from the start and continuing her streak of podium finishes.
Race 2 was marred by a setback when contact resulted in a crash that dropped her to sixth in class. This incident also prevented her from participating in the inaugural race of the Porsche Endurance Challenge, where she was set to share the #209 machine with Porsche Sprint Challenge North America title winner Ashley Freiberg.
The third round at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca therefore offered a perfect opportunity for a rebound, in Black Sheep Racing’s home state and as the series supported the IndyCar Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at the iconic circuit. The Porsche one-make series delivered its usual action-packed races.
In the first practice session, Ely was 14th overall and fifth in the 992 Master category, clocking in at 1:26.998. She showed significant improvement in the second practice session, finishing eighth overall and third in class, with a personal best of 1:25.889, less than a second behind the overall pace setter.
Qualifying marked another step forward, as she secured a start from the fourth row and third among the Master entries having clocked a 1:25.752 lap.
Race 1 proved unfortunate, with Ely finishing seventh in class after an incident with Reinhold Krahn – with the latter receiving a post-race 30-second penalty. Nevertheless, she still collected important points for the championship, in a points system that rewards consistency.
In Race 2, Ely made a strong return to the front, starting seventh overall and finishing third in class, thus climbing back onto the podium after the first race in Austin. This performance was a solid recovery from Saturday's disappointment.
“It was not the results we wanted, but still a decent close to the weekend,” said Laura Ely. “We will really need to push hard at the next event and claw back some lost points here at Laguna Seca, but I know this team and I can do it.”
Despite a few challenging races, Ely's record of one race win and five podiums has secured her third place in the championship standings. She trails second-placed Jim Walsh by just 3 points and is 80 points behind championship leader Kevin Woods, with now two double-headers remaining on the schedule.
She will now have six weeks to regroup and refocus before the next event at Road America: Ely will in fact take on the 14-turn, 4.048-mile circuit in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, another iconic North American circuit, from August 9-11.