Mia Lovell starred in the latest round of the Toyota GR Cup North America series, battling at the front in both races and securing her fourth top-ten finish of the season. Jade Avedisian excelled in the wet first race, charging through the field and setting the fastest lap, while Maddie Aust gained several positions in race two, marking her sixth top-20 finish of the year.
The fifth round of the 2024 Toyota GR Cup North America brought more positives for the female drivers of the series, who continue to make strides with consistent progress and frequent top-ten finishes.
At Road America, Mia Lovell starred with a stellar performance in a highly competitive field of almost 30 cars, battling at the front in both races and securing her fourth top-ten finish of the season. Jade Avedisian excelled in the wet first race, charging through the field and setting the fastest lap, while Maddie Aust gained several positions in race two, marking her sixth top-20 finish of the year.
The series, quickly establishing itself as a competitive stepping stone to sports car racing, kicked off last year and has already featured several standout female drivers, including race car rookie Mia Lovell, who has made impressive improvements throughout the season, ultimately finishing as the top-placed female driver on multiple occasions. This achievement is particularly sought after in the Toyota GR Cup North America due to its prize money, with the best-placed female driver awarded a $5,000 prize at each race.
Entering the fifth double-header, Mia Lovell had topped this classification in five of the eight races, with Jade Avedisian securing two wins in this category at COTA, and Maddie Aust leading the female standings in Sonoma's second race.
Four female drivers started the season at the Californian venue in April, though Precision Motorsports LA driver Alexandra Hainer later stepped up to the Pirelli GT4 America series at VIR. Japanese star Anna Inotsume, a multiple-time TCR national champion and current Formula Regional Japan driver, also made a guest appearance at VIR, showing impressive speed and adaptability.
Avedisian, a rising star and multiple champion in dirt midgets competitions as well as a Toyota Development Program driver, currently holds the top finishing position for the female drivers with a fourth-place result at Circuit of the Americas. Former F4 US racer and TC America race winner Maddie Aust is also making steady progress in her debut season in the Toyota GR Cup, often translating her racecraft into solid recovery drives, including two top-15 finishes.
A month after the fourth round at VIR, the Toyota GR Cup NA drivers took to the track at the iconic Elkhart Lake circuit in Wisconsin, facing very wet conditions during the opening days that complicated setup work for the teams. However, Lovell quickly proved she would be a top contender, clocking the fourth-fastest time in practice and confirming her strong form in qualifying with a 2:32.932 lap that placed her fifth on the grid. Jade Avedisian lined up in P20 and Maddie Aust in P22 for the first race of the weekend on Saturday.
Sunshine appeared in the morning, but rain returned just before the start, leading to two laps behind the safety car. When the green flag waved, Lovell had a great start, keeping it on track as the leaders went wide into turn 1, eventually slotting into fifth place. Aust was up to P21, while Avedisian dropped to P23.
In tricky half-wet conditions, Jade Avedisian set the fastest lap of the race at 2:44.795, while battling in a group fighting for 20th. Lovell briefly lost a place to Alex Garcia but remained in the front-running pack. However, worsening rain conditions caused a slide at turn 6, resulting in a spin that dropped her to P13, though she quickly rejoined.
Avedisian continued to excel in the challenging conditions, setting a new fastest lap at 2:43.541 and making significant gains to move up to P15 before a safety car was deployed due to heavy rain. At the restart, she climbed to P13, though she was later shuffled back to P15. Lovell, who had dropped to 20th, recovered to P17, while Aust spun at the final corner.
In a chaotic final few laps, Lovell fought back to finish P15 and claimed the top female award. Avedisian finished P19 despite a late-race issue, while Aust ended in P23.
Under sunny skies at Road America, the 27-car field lined up for the second race of the weekend, with Mia Lovell starting from a strong P7, Jade Avedisian in P15, and Maddie Aust in P21. As the lights went out, Lovell made an excellent start, immediately moving up to eighth, while Avedisian and Aust navigated the opening laps, with both drivers gaining positions.
The early stages of the race were marked by intense battles throughout the field, with Lovell holding her own in the tightly packed top ten. She found herself in a three-wide situation through the high-speed Kink, skillfully keeping her car on track while defending her position. Meanwhile, Avedisian and Aust were also making progress, with Avedisian advancing to P19 and Aust closely following in P20.
As the race approached its midpoint, the top eight began to pull away, leaving Lovell just two seconds behind the leading group. Her competitive pace allowed her to fend off challenges from Maximilian Hewitt while keeping the front-runners within reach. On lap 6, a significant incident at the Kink involving Bennett Muldoon brought out the safety car for a lengthy cleanup. Fortunately, the driver was unhurt, but the delay meant the race would restart with just 12 minutes remaining.
When the race resumed, Lovell executed a strong restart, capitalizing on a mistake by Rumburg to move up to P8. Meanwhile, Avedisian and Aust each gained another position, running in P18 and P19, respectively. However, Avedisian’s charge was cut short by a technical issue that forced her to retire from the race, a disappointing end to what had been a promising run.
Undeterred, Lovell continued to push, overtaking Christian Weir - who had started on pole -on her way to P6. She was now in the mix with the leading group, battling hard with Weisenberg for a potential top-five finish. In the closing laps, Weir mounted a comeback and retook the position, but Lovell held on to cross the line in seventh place.
This result marked her fourth top-ten finish of the season and her second victory of the female award at Road America - the seventh of the season.
Maddie Aust also made steady progress, gaining five positions during the race to finish in P17, a positive result for the BSI Racing driver as she continues to build experience in the series.
With this strong performance, Lovell moved up to 10th in the championship standings with 22 points, maintaining her momentum as the series heads into the penultimate round at Barber Motorsports Park on September 6-8. Despite a challenging weekend, Avedisian retains 14th place in the standings and will be eager to bounce back at the next event.
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