GTWC America: Outstanding GT3 debut for Vogel

 March 10, 2021 – Racers-Behind the Helmet

 Making their GT3 racing debut at the season opener in Sonoma, both Erin Vogel and Taylor Hagler had remarkable weekends: while Hagler clinched two Pro-Am podium finishes, minor issues to prevent Vogel to step on the podium, in a very exciting start to their campaigns.

 Five months after the final round of its 2020 season, the GT World Challenge America returned to the track with some novelties: among them, two female racers made their GT3 racing debut in the very competitive SRO series.

 Coming from different backgrounds, Erin Vogel and Taylor Hagler both entered the opening race weekend at Sonoma with big plans for the 2021 season. Vogel had a very solid GT4 America campaign with Flying Lizard Motorsports in 2020 – her first in an SRO sanctioned series – at the wheel of a McLaren 570S GT4, which she shared with experienced racer Michael Cooper. Despite the learning curve, Erin showed impressive progress throughout her debut season and went on to clinch three top-five finishes.

 With one season of competitive racing under her belt, Vogel made the switch to GT3 machinery and joined DXDT Racing, again joined by Cooper in the driving seat of the stunning purple and red #19 CrowdStrike Mercedes AMG GT3, part of a three-car operation for the squad.

Vogel had the chance to log several laps in pre-season testing days, which allowed her to familiarize with the new vehicle ahead of the Sonoma round.

"We have great momentum coming into Sonoma." – noted Vogel. "The crew at DXDT has been working incredibly hard to be ready, above and beyond the normal beginning season work. We’ve got a super solid car that we’ve been able to become very familiar with over the last two months. We’re excited to see the competition in this class and get out there, wheel to wheel again."

 Compared to last year's GT4 America SprintX races, which feature two 60-minute heats with a driver change, the driver of the #19 Mercedes also had to work on a different race format, which sees a double header of 90-minutes for each competition.

Ph credits: Jamey Price Photo

 Race 1

Having qualified the car in 14th position, Erin Vogel started her first GT3 race of her career on Saturday, tackling the fast and flowing Sonoma Raceway from the seventh row of the grid. A few places ahead of her, Taylor Hagler had placed the #93 Acura in eleventh place.

There was plenty of action right from the beginning, as George Kurtz was quickly tagged by teammate and team owner David Askew into Turn 4, which sent the #4 DXDT Mercedes into a spin in the grass. The pack took evasive action and both Hagler and Vogel were particularly good at seizing the opportunity to gain places: Hagler advanced to P10, just ahead of Vogel in 11th overall.

The two ladies kept moving up the order, as the Pro-Am train remained very bunched up: when Askew served a drive through penalty for a first lap incident, Hagler and Vogel found themselves in fourth and fifth Pro-Am positions respectively, before engaging in a very exciting battle.

 Vogel made a move stick on lap 7, pulling away from Hagler and quickly pursued Burton in the #91 Rearden Lamborghini ahead. 15 minutes into the race, her pace continued to improve. On lap 11 though, after an outstanding first part of her stint where she had gained 6 positions, Vogel slowed down and allowed Hagler to repass while she struggled with a seat belt that came unlatched.

Erin Vogel - Ph: DXDT Racing, Jamey Price Photo

 The unfortunate incident forced Vogel to pit on lap 12 and she rejoined the track in P13 overall, eighth in Pro-Am class. Once back on track, Erin lapped quicker than most of the field but had to make up for the lost lap in the unscheduled pit stop.

 Having caught up and passed Gannett on lap 20 for P12 overall, Erin Vogel also pitted for the compulsory driver change, leaving Michael Cooper at the wheel of the #19 Mercedes. With a flawless pit stop and driver change, Cooper rejoined P6 in Pro-Am.

In the midst of a four-car fight, DXDT teammate Colin Braun ran into the back of the #96 BMW of Robby Foley, scattering pieces of bodywork around the track. Cooper, who was alongside Braun, managed to avoid the collision and moved up to eighth, fifth in class. He would eventually pass Braun on lap 40, but his DXDT teammate responded back at the exit of Turn 9 after a rough shift caused the gearbox of the #19 car to go into neutral.

 Micheal Cooper and Erin Vogel finished their first combined GT3 effort seventh overall and fifth in Pro-Am across the finish line, in a remarkable recovery from the seat belt issue.

"I am officially a GT3 racer as of today." – wrote Vogel. "We had some challenges in race one, which wasn’t ideal, but we were able to move on and take back some positions to earn a solid fifth place finish", she added. "That yellow allowed us to catch up to the pack and get back into the race. Michael did a great job in his stint, and we got a decent result all things considered."

Ph: Jamey Price Photo 

Race 2

After GT4 driver and singer Aurora Straus performed the US national anthem, the second 90-minute race at Sonoma went underway with Jordan Pepper leading the field, alongside Colin Braun. Michael Cooper gained one position at the start from his 10th place grid slot. He would soon move into eighth overall and chased down the battling Dalziel and Ellis in the #63 and #33 Mercedes.

On lap 12, Cooper got past Pro driver Ellis for seventh overall, but remained P5 in Pro-Am. As the pit window approached, the gaps remained relatively small up in front. Erin Vogel jumped in the #19 Mercedes and started her stint in P7 overall, fifth in class. A spin for DXDT Racing's David Askew allowed Erin Vogel to move up to fourth, as she continued to close the gap to Hagler.

 Running almost 2 seconds faster than the Pro-Am cars in front, Erin closed an 18-second gap and started to put pressure on Hagler. The duo was also significantly faster than Fred Poordad in the #20 Wright Motorsport entry, but a tight battle between the two ladies ultimately prevented them from catching up with the second-placed Porsche.

All eyes were on the podium battle between Taylor Hagler and Erin Vogel. They both managed to pass the lapped car of Askew but, when just when Vogel seemed able to complete a move, she spun coming off of Turn 7. She regrouped and quickly rejoined, but had to defend against the fast approaching Russell Ward in the #33 Winward Racing Mercedes.

Ph credits: F. Hardy/Sideline Sports Photography

Vogel showed remarkable defensive driving in the final laps and kept her Pro rival Russell Ward behind in a photo-finish. She was sixth overall and fourth in Pro-Am, showing great speed, determination, and overall natural feeling with the Mercedes AMG GT3 – even more so compared to last year's McLaren GT4.

"After the driver change, I was able to use the sticker tires that we chose to save for Sunday to catch up to cars that were immediately in front." – explained Vogel. "It allowed me to get right back in the race and that felt pretty good. I chased Taylor Hagler for a couple of laps until I made a little bit of a mistake and did a half-spin. She did some great driving and I wasn’t able to catch her after the spin. I spent the last laps of the race fighting off Russell Ward in another Mercedes AMG. It was a really great fight. I had fun racing with him and held him off in a photo-finish to come in P4, which we are happy with for our second race of the season."

 It was indeed a stunning GT3 debut and a very promising start of the season Vogel in Sonoma: Erin and Cooper currently sit in fifth place in the Pro-Am championship with 22 points. From the California venue, the series will move COTA on April 30-May 2 for the second double-header of this very exciting GT World Challenge America season.

Ph: Jamey Price Photo

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