Therese Lahlouh had an excellent weekend at Road America in the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America. She secured two sixth places in the 992 Pro/Am class, significantly reducing the gap to the leading drivers and constantly battling for the top five places.
JDX Racing driver Therese Lahlouh had an excellent racing weekend at the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America. On the impressive Road America race track, Lahlouh secured two sixth places in the 992 Pro/Am class in an expanded field of drivers.
Over the course of the weekend, Therese was able to significantly reduce the gap to the leading group of racers, and her speed both on one lap and over the entire race distance should be encouraging.
Lahlouh enjoyed a breakthrough last time out at Watkins Glen, as the JDX Racing driver stood on the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America podium for the first time in her career. Third place in the second race of the weekend saw Therese make a significant step forward and maintain her position in the top five in the championship standings. The fast and flowing nature of the Road America circuit presented a different challenge and one that Lahlouh relished once the on-track action began.
Road America was also the second round of the Porsche Endurance Challenge North America, so Lahlouh shared the driving duties with teammate Nik Romano during practice. The two were constantly battling for top positions in their class, while Therese finished practice with lap times that put her comfortably in the top 10 of the 992 Pro/Am class.
Qualifying took place on Saturday morning and Lahlouh was hoping to make further progress after a promising series of practice sessions. A red flag at the start of the session disrupted the riders’ rhythm, but the JDX Racing rider showed excellent speed in the closing stages. Lahlouh’s pace in the first sector was particularly competitive, allowing her to qualify eighth in the 992 Pro/Am class, tenth overall and just a quarter of a second behind seventh place.
Lahlouh started the first race of the weekend from the top 10, eighth in the 992 Pro/Am class, and made an excellent start from the fifth row. She held eighth place through the opening corners, and some clever maneuvers on the first lap put her in ninth place overall and seventh in her class as the drivers entered the second lap. Her progress was then halted by a caution period following an accident involving Charlie Peter and Shane Leathers, and both cars had to be recovered at Canada Corner.
When racing resumed with 18 minutes to go, JDX Racing driver David Musial made a great pass under the Corvette Bridge to move into sixth place in his class and eighth place overall. From there, Lahlouh was able to immediately close the gap on Conrad Geis and was able to close the gap even further after a second caution period.
With ten minutes to go, Lahlouh and Geis traded sector times in the battle for a place in the top five, while newcomer Jens Hantson closed in on the pair. Therese defended herself cleverly against Hantson in the closing stages, was able to improve her lap times and cross the chequered flag in sixth place in the 992 Pro/Am class and eighth overall.
After excellent consistency in qualifying, Lahlouh entered the second race of the weekend seventh overall, sixth in the 992 Pro/Am class. The first few corners were turbulent, with Therese escaping a multi-car crash just behind her to overtake Scott Blind for sixth place overall. At the end of the first lap, the race was neutralized by a full-course yellow, with only other 992 Pro/Am class drivers ahead of Lahlouh.
Racing resumed with 25 minutes to go and Lahlouh immediately had to defend against Blind as the Ruckus Racing driver passed her at turn five. Thanks to excellent racing technique, Therese was able to hold her position despite heavy pressure from the 992 Masters driver. Lahlouh’s strength in the first sector was crucial in withstanding any challenge at turn five and with a personal best on lap nine, the gap widened to one second.
Lahlouh’s strong pace had also allowed her to close the gap to fifth-placed rider Conrad Geis to just over a second and she sensed an opportunity for a late attack. A series of consistent lap times in the closing stages of the competition saw the JDX Racing rider continue to close the gap while forcing Geis into a mistake at the end of lap 13.
Lahlouh was able to pull alongside her rival in the first corner, but she was unable to take advantage of the outside line as Geis held his position well. Lahlouh was unable to launch a final push for a top-five finish as a second full-course yellow phase was issued on the final lap and Therese took the chequered flag in sixth place in her class.
It was an excellent weekend of racing for Lahlouh, who achieved excellent results in an expanded field of 992 Pro/Am class riders. The JDX Racing rider was able to significantly reduce the gap to the leading group and showed a strong performance in qualifying that allowed her to fight for the top five spots in her class.
Lahlouh will be looking to end the season on a winning note when the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America drivers return for one final round at Sonoma Raceway on the weekend of September 28-29.
