McLaren Trophy America brought its debut season to a close at Indianapolis, The Racing Capital Of The World, last week (15th – 17th October) with all four championship titles being settled in the final race. Round nine and ten both contained a few surprises, with penalties, spins and contact all adding to the drama of a season finale.
After nine races across five circuits spanning the length and breadth of the USA, it all came down to the final race of the season at the fabled Indianapolis Motor Speedway. A Pro class win on Saturday for James Li and Casey Dennis ensured that all they had to do was start the season finale to be crowned champions.
However, a technical issue in qualifying almost led to their campaign coming unstuck as rivals Tommy Pintos and Cooper Broll went on to seal a double class pole position. Starting race one from the back of the grid, Casey put in an inspired drive, carving his way through the field to hand over to teammate James at half distance in first place. James also drove well to maintain the advantage and take the chequered flag for 15 valuable points. With e advantage locked in, merely starting race two ensured they could not be beaten to claim the Pro class championship.
There was an intense battle for ProAm honours with John Demsey and Andrew Davis having taken the fight to championship leaders Alexandra Hainer and Jesse Lazare. John claimed a race two pole position but would start behind his rival Alexandra for race one. It would all unravel for them though during the course of the two races, as contact and penalties would swing the advantage, and the title, the way of Alexandra and Jesse.
James Sofronas and the GMG Racing team were the final champions to be crowned for the season. James has been impressive all year, sometimes troubling the Pro class drives with his remarkable pace, He entered the weekend with one hand on the Am class title but a race one win from rival Colin Harrison proved he still had to work for it. Victory in the second content however redressed the balance and allowed both him and the GMG Racing team to celebrate a double title win as they claimed the Teams’ championship honours.
“Congratulations to James, Casey, Alexandra, Jesse and James on their title successes. They have all raced hard this season and are worthy champions. Indianapolis proved to be a fantastic venue to end the year. A circuit steeped in history, with a strong link to our proud racing heritage, so it seems only fitting that we write a new chapter there by crowning the first of our McLaren Trophy America champions.”
Rob Bell, Sporting Director, McLaren Automotive