First Female Victory in GT World Challenge America - Erin Vogel makes History
It was already destined to become a memorable weekend when it was announced that the public was allowed back into the track and paddock for the first time since April 2020, but the third round of the SRO GT World Challenge America at VIRginia International Raceway will also go into the history books of the series for recording the first ever female victory in GT3 machinery.
Erin Vogel, in her first season in the championship and in GT3 cars after a competitive debut last year in the SRO-sanctioned GT4 America Sprint-X championship, clinched the historic achievement in the first race of the weekend, sharing the DXDT Racing Mercedes AMG GT3 with teammate Michael Cooper in the Pro-Am class.
The North Carolina-based team underwent significant expansion ahead of the 2021 season, and was surely feeling strong having completed a successful testing program in preparation of its home race at VIR – a racetrack that is widely considered as one of the most exciting and respected in North America. With its fast sections, elevation changes, flowing corners and esses, alongside the limited room for error make the spectacular Virginia Raceway somewhat comparable to Spa Francorchamps – a track that has gained legendary status in Europe.
"I love VIR. It's a challenging track that rewards patience, thoughtfulness, and confidence." – commented Vogel prior to the race weekend. "Driving the car flat out up the esses and into the braking zone for Turn 10 lap, after lap, after lap, is a little bit insane, and combined with the more technical corners, it's just a track that has incredible rhythm."
"In early May, we had a very successful test at VIR and so we're feeling very strong as a team coming into the race weekend."
Following a shortened qualifying in the morning, Vogel and Cooper were eleventh overall and seventh in Pro-Am. Erin got behind the wheel for the first stint on Saturday.
It was a difficult start in Race 1 for Vogel, who dropped a couple of positions in the first chaotic moments and settled in P14. After working her way back to 9th overall, a full course caution was deployed when Jeff Burton parked the #91 Lamborghini in the grass – its engine up in flames due to a fuel pump issue.
At the restart, the leader dived into the pitlane, followed by most of the field. It was chaos on pit road, with cars stopping in the wrong pit boxes and traffic re-shuffling the order.
The big winners were the #19 DXDT crew of Vogel and Cooper, who had the perfect stop: both Vogel and the team were flawless, and Cooper headed back out on track fourth overall.
After a strategic pass, Michael Cooper found himself third overall and leading the Pro-Am field, ahead of Jacob Abel and Drew Stavely. Jan Heylen (Wright Motorsports' Porsche) made his way up the Pro-Am order and passed the Aston Martin of Stavely, before finding a way around Abel and advancing to second in class. These battles, though, gave Cooper the opportunity to extend his class lead to almost 20 seconds.
Jordan Pepper took the overall victory for K-PAX, six seconds clear of Robby Foley in the #96 Turner Motorsports' BMW M6. But all the eyes were on Michael Cooper, who crossed the finish line on the overall podium and claimed an outstanding class victory for DXDT.
Erin Vogel became the first woman to win in GT3 in the SRO GT World Challenge championships – a breakthrough performance that proved what the duo is capable of when not held up by misfortune.
"Michael and I have been working hard towards this for a long time, and today the whole team stepped up with a perfect car, perfect pit stop, and two consistent stints from Michael Cooper and myself. I'm still in disbelief. What a moment." – wrote Vogel after the truly historic moment.
The hot temperatures that characterized the first race returned for Race 2, with tire wear always a big talking point coming into Sunday's round.
At the race start, Jordan Pepper – fourth on the starting grid – was immediately up to third in the K-PAX Lamborghini. Ollie Millroy (Inception Racing McLaren) picked up damage on the first lap and was soon out of contention, as Michael Cooper got caught up in the bumper cars and lost positions during the opening lap as well. Following the drama of the start, he would slot into tenth place (P6 in Pro-Am).
Millroy's McLaren scattered debris around the track and the Safety Car was deployed to recover a tire carcass left by the Inception Racing entry. Following the restart, the battles for Pro-Am were thoroughly entertaining, and Cooper was able to move up into 6th overall.
When the pit window opened, Michael Cooper caught up with the Acura of Matt McMurry before pitting with 42 minutes to go. Erin Vogel got behind the wheel of the #19 Mercedes AMG GT3 and rejoined in eighth position overall. After the round of pit stops, Taylor Hagler was back ahead of Vogel, but Erin passed her competitor on track and moved up into fourth in class.
Hagler fought back and claimed back the position on Erin Vogel. Vogel, who was battling with her car after the first lap incident had left the Mercedes out of alignment, spun and rejoined sixth in class.
The Pro-Am competition was again on fire: David Askew, Michael Di Meo and Fred Poordad battled for the class lead and the rookie Acura driver made a move stick to get ahead, opening a small gap. Askew spun and was off the track, handing third place in class to Taylor Hagler with 17 minutes to go.
After a mistake by Harward, Vogel was all over the back of the #88 Zelus Motorsport's Lamborghini, but she couldn't find a way past. Askew went off again and allowed past both Harward and Vogel – the latter recovering to fifth in class despite the evident balance issues on her Mercedes.
"Sunday wasn't quite the same kind of race for us that Saturday was, but we still brought it home P5." – said Vogel. "DXDT Racing gave us the car, we had the pace, and the crew pulled off another great pit stop, but an incident on the first lap caused damage to a tire and knocked the setup out of alignment."
"Michael Cooper had a great drive despite the damage and we were P4 in class and in podium contention when I got in the car. But with the damage to the left rear in the brutal heat and humidity, I had my hands full keeping a decent pace - the car didn't really want to turn right, which is a bit of a challenge on a clockwise circuit - so P5 still felt like something to be proud of."
With a race win in the latest round, Vogel is evidently making good progress in a very competitive series that has always seen tremendous talent in GT racing. Having made her transition from GT4 cars to GT3, she is looking more comfortable than ever in her current machine.
"It was slick out there, but DXDT Racing gave us a really great car." – observed Vogel.
"It’s probably the best Mercedes-AMG GT3 we’ve had yet this season. We also had one of the best pit stops we’ve had so far and came out third best out of the whole field in race one."
"This weekend was truly a team effort. Michael was really consistent in the car and stayed out there in the lead, kept that gap, and preserved it all race. I knew from the beginning that the Mercedes-AMG GT3 was going to be a good fit. I’m hoping this is the start of more races like this. It takes a couple of races for everything to gel, and this felt like this was the first time that it really has."
GT World Challenge America is now set to take a break until the next double-header, scheduled for August 27-29 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The GT3 ladies Hagler and Vogel are currently tied on points in the Pro-Am standings, both in third with 59 points.
Text by Racers - Behind the Helmet (https://www.racers-behindthehelmet.com/)
IG: @racers_behindthehelmet
Twitter: @BehindHelmet