Taylor Hagler completed the Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS weekend at Circuit of the Americas and raced to a sixth place finish before suffering a DNF in the second race of the double header weekend.
The home race weekend marked the second outing for Hagler in the No. 93 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX as she teamed with Jacob Abel competing in the Pro-Am category.
Hagler qualified ninth in the Pro-Am class on Saturday morning for Race One at the 3.4-mile course. Taking the green flag with rain clouds threatening overhead, she fell to 12th at the start but quickly began work recovering those positions and raced her way into the top five by lap 10 running times equal to those of the leaders in class.
She moved into the second position in class during the pit sequence near the halfway mark when the skies opened and heavy rain began to fall. Hagler came to pit lane from second in Pro-Am and fourth overall to hand over the Acura to Abel.
With just under nine minutes remaining, the race was red flagged due to poor track conditions caused by the torrential downpour. Hagler and Abel were classified seventh in the final results.
“The weather really kept all of us on our toes because we didn’t have any sessions throughout the three days that were the same, but it was great to get back in the Acura NSX GT3 Evo with Racers Edge Motorsports at COTA,” said Hagler. “We kept working and had a great car in Race 1. It was really cool to be able to battle my way into the top five by the end of my stint. The last lap was probably the most stressful lap I have ever driven because it was my first in a full downpour on slicks, but I was able to bring it home to pitlane for Jacob (Abel) to take over. We battled hard until the end and had a good run to close the first race.”
With more favourable racing conditions for Race Two on Sunday, Hagler and Abel looked to rebound from the opening race on Saturday.
Unfortunately, Hagler’s Race Two was cut short when the No. 93 Acura suffered damage on the opening lap and forced Abel to pit lane for an extended period while the crew worked to make repairs. Abel was sent back out on track once the crew replaced the right-rear brake line.
Adversity struck again as suspension damage forced Hagler and the team to make an early retirement at the mandatory pit stop.
“Our race kicked off with a braking issue and then we had additional trouble with a damaged suspension which kept me from running in Race 2,” said Hagler. “I think we could have had a better showing than Saturday in the dry conditions on Sunday. It was great to have some family and friends out to watch the race and see them enjoy taking in everything racing offers. I’m looking forward to seeing our fans at VIR as we fight for the podium.”
Hagler will return to the Racers Edge Acura machine in SRO competition at VIRginia International Raceway on June 4-6th for Rounds Five and Six of the 2021 Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS season.
Source. Sunday Group
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