Mia Lovell was the star of the final round of the Toyota GR Cup North America series, battling at the front in both races and securing her fourth top-ten finish of the season. Jade Avedisian shined in the wet first race, charging through the field and setting the fastest lap, while Maddie Aust gained several positions in the second race to score her sixth top-20 finish of the year.

The fifth round of the 2024 Toyota GR Cup North America brought more positive aspects for the series’ female drivers, who continue to make progress with steady progress and frequent top-ten finishes.

At Road America, Mia Lovell shined with a standout performance in a highly competitive field of nearly 30 cars, battling at the front in both races and securing her fourth top-ten finish of the season. Jade Avedisian shined in the wet first race, charging through the field and setting the fastest lap, while Maddie Aust gained several positions in the second race to score her sixth top-20 finish of the year.

The series, which quickly established itself as a competitive stepping stone to sports car racing, launched last year and has already produced several outstanding female drivers, including race car rookie Mia Lovell, who made impressive progress over the course of the season, ultimately finishing as the top-placed driver on several occasions. This achievement is particularly coveted in the Toyota GR Cup North America due to the prize money, with the top-placed female driver at each race receiving a $5,000 prize.

Before the fifth doubleheader, Mia Lovell had led this classification in five of the eight races, Jade Avedisian secured two wins in this category at COTA, and Maddie Aust led the women’s classification in the second race in Sonoma.

Four female drivers started the season at the Californian circuit in April, although Precision Motorsports LA driver Alexandra Hainer later moved up to the Pirelli GT4 America series on VIR. Japanese star Anna Inotsume, multiple TCR national champion and current Formula Regional Japan driver, also made a guest appearance on VIR, showing impressive speed and adaptability.

Avedisian, a rising star and multiple champion in dirt midget competition and a Toyota Development Program driver, currently holds the best finish among the female drivers with a fourth-place finish at Circuit of the Americas. Former US F4 racer and TC America race winner Maddie Aust is also making steady progress in her debut season in the Toyota GR Cup, often translating her racing skills into solid comebacks, including two top-15 finishes.

One month after round four at VIR, the Toyota GR Cup NA drivers took to the track at Wisconsin’s legendary Elkhart Lake Circuit. During the first few days, they faced very wet conditions that made setup work difficult for the teams. However, Lovell quickly proved she would be a top contender by setting the fourth fastest time in practice and confirming her strong form in qualifying with a lap of 2:32.932 that earned her fifth place on the grid. Jade Avedisian started P20 on Saturday and Maddie Aust P22 for the first race of the weekend.

The sun shone in the morning but rain started again shortly before the start, forcing him to stay behind the safety car for two laps. When the green flag was waved, Lovell made a great start and stayed on track as the leaders went wide at Turn 1, eventually finishing in fifth place. Aust came in P21 while Avedisian dropped to P23.

In difficult, semi-wet conditions, Jade Avedisian set the fastest lap of the race at 2:44.795 while battling in a group for 20th place. Lovell briefly lost a place to Alex Garcia but remained in the leading group. However, worsening rain conditions caused her to slide into Turn 6, causing a spin that dropped her to 13th, although she quickly recovered to first place.

Avedisian continued to perform excellently in the difficult conditions, setting a new fastest lap of 2:43.541 and making significant progress to move up to P15 before a safety car was deployed due to heavy rain. She climbed to P13 on the restart but was later pushed back to P15. Lovell, who had dropped to 20th, recovered to P17 while Aust spun out on the final corner.

In the chaotic final laps, Lovell fought back to finish 15th, securing the award for best woman. Avedisian, despite a late-race issue, finished 19th, while Aust finished 23rd.

Under sunny skies at Road America, the 27-car field lined up for the second race of the weekend. Mia Lovell started from a strong 7th place, Jade Avedisian from P15 and Maddie Aust from P21. When the lights went out, Lovell made a great start and immediately moved up to 8th place, while Avedisian and Aust mastered the opening laps, both drivers gaining positions.

The early stages of the race saw intense battles throughout the field, with Lovell holding her own in the tightly packed top ten. She found herself in a three-way situation at the high-speed corner and expertly kept her car on the track while defending her position. Meanwhile, Avedisian and Aust also made progress, with Avedisian moving up to P19 and Aust closely following her in P20.

As the race approached the halfway point, the top eight began to pull away, leaving Lovell just two seconds behind the leading group. Her competitive pace allowed her to hold off attacks from Maximilian Hewitt while keeping the frontrunners within striking distance. On lap 6, a serious incident at the Kink involving Bennett Muldoon led to the Safety Car being deployed for a lengthy clean-up operation. Thankfully, the driver was unhurt, but the delay meant the race had to be restarted with just 12 minutes remaining.

When racing resumed, Lovell made a strong restart and capitalized on a mistake from Rumburg to move up to P8. Meanwhile, Avedisian and Aust were each able to gain a position to run P18 and P19 respectively. However, Avedisian’s recovery was interrupted by a technical issue that forced her to retire from the race – a disappointing end to a promising run.

Undeterred, Lovell continued her attack and overtook Christian Weir, who had started from pole, on her way to P6. She was now with the leading group and engaged in a tough battle with Weisenberg for a possible top-five finish. In the final laps, Weir launched a comeback and regained the position, but Lovell held on and crossed the finish line in seventh place.

This result marked her fourth top-ten finish of the season and her second win in the women’s honors at Road America – her seventh of the season.

Maddie Aust also made steady progress, gaining five positions during the race to finish in P17 – a positive result for the BSI Racing driver, who continues to gain experience in the series.

With this strong performance, Lovell moved up to 10th in the championship standings with 22 points and was able to maintain her momentum as the series heads into its penultimate round at Barber Motorsports Park on September 6-8. Despite a challenging weekend, Avedisian maintains 14th in the standings and will be keen to bounce back at the next event.