diff --git a/crypto/stark/src/constraints/zerofier.rs b/crypto/stark/src/constraints/zerofier.rs
index ba22098de..a91f739cd 100644
--- a/crypto/stark/src/constraints/zerofier.rs
+++ b/crypto/stark/src/constraints/zerofier.rs
@@ -115,13 +115,36 @@ pub fn zerofier_evaluations_on_extended_domain<F: IsFFTField>(
         .collect()
 }
 
+/// `1/(z^N − 1)`, the half of the zerofier that does NOT depend on the
+/// constraint.
+///
+/// Hoisted out of [`evaluate_zerofier`] because the caller evaluates every
+/// constraint of an AIR at the SAME `z` and `trace_length`: computing it inside
+/// meant one extension-field `pow` and one extension-field `inv` **per
+/// constraint** instead of one per AIR. Measured in the recursion guest, where
+/// that loop is hot: `evaluate_zerofier` was 15.8% of the guest's cycles and
+/// 88% of that was exactly this `inv` + `pow`.
+pub fn zerofier_base_inv<F, E>(z: &FieldElement<E>, trace_length: usize) -> FieldElement<E>
+where
+    F: IsSubFieldOf<E>,
+    E: IsField,
+{
+    (-FieldElement::<F>::one() + z.pow(trace_length))
+        .inv()
+        .unwrap()
+}
+
 /// Evaluation of the constraint's zerofier at some point `z`, which may be in
 /// a field extension.
+///
+/// `base_inv` is [`zerofier_base_inv`] for this `z`/`trace_length` — the caller
+/// computes it once and passes it for every constraint of the AIR.
 pub fn evaluate_zerofier<F, E>(
     meta: &ConstraintMeta,
     z: &FieldElement<E>,
     trace_primitive_root: &FieldElement<F>,
     trace_length: usize,
+    base_inv: &FieldElement<E>,
 ) -> FieldElement<E>
 where
     F: IsSubFieldOf<E>,
@@ -134,9 +157,5 @@ where
         acc * -(root.clone() - z.clone())
     });
 
-    // 1/(z^N − 1), times the end-exemptions correction.
-    (-FieldElement::<F>::one() + z.pow(trace_length))
-        .inv()
-        .unwrap()
-        * &end_exemptions_eval
+    base_inv * &end_exemptions_eval
 }
diff --git a/crypto/stark/src/lookup.rs b/crypto/stark/src/lookup.rs
index ceda5417a..55675a92d 100644
--- a/crypto/stark/src/lookup.rs
+++ b/crypto/stark/src/lookup.rs
@@ -824,7 +824,12 @@ pub struct AirWithBuses<
     constraint_set: CS,
     /// The LogUp layout: the framework generates the LogUp (extension)
     /// constraints from this and appends them after the `constraint_set` ones.
-    logup: LogUpLayout,
+    /// Behind `Arc` for the same reason as `constraint_program`: cloning an
+    /// `AirWithBuses` copied the interaction list TWICE (here and in
+    /// `auxiliary_trace_build_data`), and the in-VM verifier clones one AIR per
+    /// table per epoch. Measured on the recursion guest, clone+drop of
+    /// `Vec<BusInteraction>` was 9.2% of its cycles while computing nothing.
+    logup: std::sync::Arc<LogUpLayout>,
     /// Idx-ordered metadata for all transition constraints, DERIVED at
     /// construction: `constraint_set.meta()` (base prefix) followed by the
     /// LogUp emission's derived metadata (ext).
@@ -838,7 +843,7 @@ pub struct AirWithBuses<
     /// program (16-25K nodes on the big tables) per epoch/shard instance.
     constraint_program:
         std::sync::OnceLock<std::sync::Arc<crate::constraint_ir::ConstraintProgram<F, E>>>,
-    auxiliary_trace_build_data: AuxiliaryTraceBuildData,
+    auxiliary_trace_build_data: std::sync::Arc<AuxiliaryTraceBuildData>,
     boundary_constraint_builder: PhantomData<(B, PI)>,
     /// Commitment to precomputed columns (if this is a preprocessed table)
     preprocessed_commitment: Option<crate::config::Commitment>,
@@ -913,7 +918,10 @@ impl<
         // Base-field (table) constraints come from the constraint set; LogUp
         // (extension) constraints are appended by the framework from the layout.
         let num_interactions = auxiliary_trace_build_data.interactions.len();
-        let logup = LogUpLayout::from_interactions(auxiliary_trace_build_data.interactions.clone());
+        let logup = std::sync::Arc::new(LogUpLayout::from_interactions(
+            auxiliary_trace_build_data.interactions.clone(),
+        ));
+        let auxiliary_trace_build_data = std::sync::Arc::new(auxiliary_trace_build_data);
         let num_term_columns = logup.num_term_columns;
 
         // meta = constraint_set base-prefix meta + appended LogUp ext meta,
diff --git a/crypto/stark/src/prover.rs b/crypto/stark/src/prover.rs
index faf512a72..8e428a1c8 100644
--- a/crypto/stark/src/prover.rs
+++ b/crypto/stark/src/prover.rs
@@ -4186,12 +4186,19 @@ pub trait IsStarkProver<
 
         let mut denominators =
             vec![FieldElement::<FieldExtension>::zero(); air.num_transition_constraints()];
+        // `1/(z^N - 1)` is the same for EVERY constraint of this AIR, so it is
+        // computed once here instead of once per constraint inside the loop.
+        let zerofier_base_inv = crate::constraints::zerofier::zerofier_base_inv::<
+            Field,
+            FieldExtension,
+        >(z, trace_length);
         air.constraints_meta().iter().for_each(|m| {
             denominators[m.constraint_idx] = crate::constraints::zerofier::evaluate_zerofier(
                 m,
                 z,
                 &domain.trace_primitive_root,
                 trace_length,
+                &zerofier_base_inv,
             );
         });
         let transition_sum = transition_evals
diff --git a/crypto/stark/src/verifier.rs b/crypto/stark/src/verifier.rs
index 44add9c21..e2ac71bee 100644
--- a/crypto/stark/src/verifier.rs
+++ b/crypto/stark/src/verifier.rs
@@ -397,12 +397,19 @@ pub trait IsStarkVerifier<
 
         let mut denominators =
             vec![FieldElement::<FieldExtension>::zero(); air.num_transition_constraints()];
+        // `1/(z^N - 1)` is the same for EVERY constraint of this AIR, so it is
+        // computed once here instead of once per constraint inside the loop.
+        let zerofier_base_inv = crate::constraints::zerofier::zerofier_base_inv::<
+            Field,
+            FieldExtension,
+        >(&challenges.z, trace_length);
         air.constraints_meta().iter().for_each(|m| {
             denominators[m.constraint_idx] = crate::constraints::zerofier::evaluate_zerofier(
                 m,
                 &challenges.z,
                 &domain.trace_primitive_root,
                 trace_length,
+                &zerofier_base_inv,
             );
         });