Thunder Bunny in “Learning Curve” After BMW Switch

Laura Hayes said she, co-driver Allen Patten and Thunder Bunny Racing are amidst a “learning curve” as they come to grips with their new BMW M4 GT4 EVO after a mid-season switch from Toyota machinery in their first season of professional racing on the Pirelli GT4 America grid.

Thunder Bunny made the step up to pro racing in the SRO America paddock this year, bringing the long-time driver pairing of Hayes and Patten along to tackle GT4 America’s Am class in its No. 606 Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 before a mid-season switch to BMW machinery after the pair of rounds at Virginia International Raceway.

Hayes, Patten, and TBR all have a long history of running GR Supras in a variety of racing applications prior to stepping up to pro-level GT4 competition this season, spanning national championship success in the World Racing League (WRL) in 2023, to individual outings at GridLife events and The Pikes Peak International Hillclimb.

While the Supra GT4, first introduced in 2020, is still homologated by SRO Motorsports Group under its current ‘EVO2’ designation, Toyota will end production of its road-going GR Supras next spring.

BMW, notably, has not announced any plans to end production on the M4 road car models on which its current GT4 car is based.

“We made a decision rather quickly after VIR to move over to the BMWs,” Hayes told Sportscar365. “It’s more looking into the future, and since we have had a bit of bad luck, let’s just get a head start on next year.

“We know that it’s going to be a bit of a learning curve learning a new race car, but it’s going well so far. We’ve got a long way to go with this car, but we know the potential, so we’re stoked for the future.

“We’ve run with Toyota for a number of years, and we love those guys. They’re awesome. The support is fantastic. The car is a lot of fun to drive. It’s more just looking into the future years ahead and what BMW has to offer.

“For us, at Thunder Bunny, we started off with BMWs, and that’s kind of how we all met. It was at BMW’s driving school. So it’s fun to get back to our roots.”

The Bill Graham-owned team sits seventh in the Am class points standings with five races remaining in the 13-round season, as the team gears up for a triple-header event at Barber Motorsports Park, which includes a makeup race from Road America after the first race of the weekend was called off and rescheduled due to weather.

Earlier in the season, Sebring International Raceway proved to be a near-breakthrough event for the team, with Hayes and Patten scoring two consecutive second-place class finishes.

The team also showed strong, front-running pace with Hayes having led laps overall at this year’s GT4 America Lone Star Enduro at Circuit of The Americas before a late-race suspension failure.

Its one-and-only race outing to date in their BMW yielded a sixth-place finish at Road America ahead of this weekend’s triple-header weekend in Alabama.

“Between me and Laura, we knew the pace would be there,” said Patten. “This is our first season running pro racing. We’ve done a bunch of WRL stuff over the years, so we’re confident from a team aspect.

“There have been some growing pains as far as bad luck throughout the year of different variations. We’ve had a few DNFs and stuff. We’ve always known the pace is there. We just need to work on finishing a full weekend at this point.”

“It’s been a lot of fun getting to run with Allen this year and getting to run at this level in motorsport with people we’ve been looking up to for a long time,” added Hayes.

When asked if wins in GT4 America are on the horizon for the South Carolina-based team, Patten said, “If we can put it all together, I think we can do it.”

“The potential, in so many different areas, is there,” added Hayes. “It’s just putting it together.”