After ending last season by challenging for race victories, Loni Unser enjoyed an excellent start to her sophomore campaign in Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by claiming a pair of runner-up finishes at Sebring International Raceway.
Loni Unser enjoyed an excellent start to her sophomore campaign in Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by claiming a pair of runner-up finishes at Sebring International Raceway.
After ending last season by challenging for race victories, Unser returned to the Cayman Pro/Am class and was immediately on the pace, missing out on pole position by mere hundredths of a second. Unser battled with Jens Hantson for the win in both races as she finished less than a second behind her rival in race two.
After an excellent Porsche Sprint Challenge North America rookie season in 2024, Unser returned to the series for a championship challenge in 2025. The Kellymoss driver ended the campaign third in the Cayman Pro/Am standings, finishing outside the top-5 on only one occasion. Unser completed her season with four straight podium finishes, including a runner-up result at Road America, and now had her sights set on claiming a maiden victory.
Unser’s series debut at Sebring International Raceway last season was strong as she finished both races in fourth place, while displaying speed to challenge for podium finishes. With this experience now under her belt, she was aiming to hit the ground running at one of the most challenging circuits in America.
Unser completed 39 laps across the two test sessions on Thursday and improved her best lap time by one second. After finishing the second session in fourth position within Cayman Pro/Am, the Kellymoss driver improved further in the first official free practice session. Unser topped the times within class and came within two tenths of a second away from the overall quickest lap set by Cayman Masters driver Alain Scalzo.
Friday’s running began with the second free practice session which served as the final on-track action prior to qualifying. Unser set the fastest middle sector of any driver on her way to setting the second fastest time in the Cayman Pro/Am class.
Qualifying took place shortly after with Loni looking to replicate her strong pace from practice. The Kellymoss driver made an encouraging start to the session and held the second fastest time as the session reached its conclusion. One final flying lap saw Unser set the overall best times in sectors one and two, however she fell just two hundredths of a second short of beating the time set by Jens Hantson.
Unser lined up on the front row of the grid for the first race of the weekend and challenged Hantson into the first turn. Loni attempted to make the outside line work and drew level with her rival, however the Speedsport Tuning driver was just able to hold on. The race quickly entered a full course yellow period as a first lap incident for William Peluchiwski meant his car required recovery.
When the race resumed, Unser made a fast restart and set the quickest middle sector of any driver. However, Hantson was able to build a small margin as the race entered a rhythm. Unser was lapping consistently and this allowed her to build a considerable gap behind and therefore she could focus forward. By lap nine, Loni began reducing Hantson’s lead as she set a lap time a quarter of a second faster than her rival.
As the race entered the closing stages, Unser’s pace continued to improve in relation to her rival. On lap 11, Loni set a personal best time and cut Hantson’s lead by almost a second. By the penultimate lap, the Kellymoss driver shrunk the margin to less than two seconds and was making her experience count. Unser took the checkered flag in second position to secure her first podium finish of the season, coming within two seconds of her maiden victory in the series.
For the second race of the event, Unser also lined up on the front row of the grid alongside Hantson. The Speedsport Tuning driver was again able to maintain the lead, while Unser kept her rival within range following the fastest middle sector. Hantson was able to build a small margin in the early stages of the race, however Loni closed back in after setting the fastest lap of the race on lap three.
By the middle of lap four, Unser had shrunk Hantson’s lead gap to less than a second and she started to apply pressure on her rival. Continuing to gain time, the margin reduced to half a second and then to just a quarter of a second by lap seven. This forced Hantson to defend his position while Loni attempted to force the race leader into a mistake.
Throughout the middle portion of the race, Unser continued to drive smartly and kept the gap down to less than half a second. Despite her best attempts to line up a move, Hantson began to extend his lead in the closing stages with the margin reaching two seconds.
Nonetheless, the Kellymoss driver mounted a late challenge and following the best middle sector of the entire race, the gap shrunk to less than a second as the white flag was displayed. Unser continued to search for an opportunity, however Hantson claimed his second race win with the margin of victory just six tenths of a second.
Unser’s speed in the season opener provided cause for optimism as targets the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America title. Setting the fastest lap in race two underlined her race pace and the Kellymoss driver will be looking to convert this into her maiden victory next time out. The drivers will now head west to Sonoma Raceway for round two which takes place on the weekend of 5th/6th April.
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