Taylor Hagler put on a display of passing Saturday at Watkins Glen International, gaining four positions early in the opening stint to set up her second Pro-Am victory of the season in the Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS.
Starting seventh in the No. 93 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3, Hagler dropped to 10th overall and fifth in the Pro-Am class on the opening lap. Biding her time until the sixth lap, Hagler then began her charge. She passed four cars over the following six laps, catching the tail end of the competition entering the Inner Loop on the 12th lap. The move placed her sixth overall and second in Pro-Am – a position she held through her pit stop at the 40-minute mark of the 90-minute event.
“It wasn’t the qualifying I wanted with the mixed conditions,” said Hagler, who entered the race second in the Pro-Am standings. “When I’m that far back, I’m usually like a dog with a bone, and as long as I have something to chase, I’m going to be up there. If I had a few more laps, a little more time, I think I could have been right up there with the leader – I was catching him a half-second a lap. I get a little fire under my foot, and if I have someone to chase, we’re good to go.”
Hager’s teammate Jacob Abel took over for his first race of any type at The Glen, and with a lightning-fast pit stop by the Racers Edge team, he emerged with fifth overall and first in the category. He managed to move up to fourth overall late in the race, holding off fellow Acura driver Matt McMurry for most of his stint to take the class victory.
“Taylor did an absolutely phenomenal job at the beginning,” said Abel after his first victory in the series. “She got us up there, and then the Racers Edge guys got us in the lead. All I had to do then was to hang on.”
Hagler will have one more chance to further her championship efforts with the second race of the weekend, September 19th. Live streaming will be available at youtube.com/gtworld.
Source. Sunday Group
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