• Alex Hainer impresses with pole position and a race win to secure Driver of the Weekend honors
• James Sofronas claimed three wins to take control in the AM class championship standing
• Casey Dennis and James Li continue to lead the pro class as Broll and Pintos close the gap to four points
• Motorsports In Action nominated team of the weekend after strong performance
McLaren Trophy America moved to Circuit of the Americas in Texas for the second weekend of the inaugural season and delivered three action packed races at the US Grand Prix venue. Hosting the re-scheduled second race from Sonoma on the Friday meant the teams and drivers had plenty of opportunity to get more familiar with the new for 2025 McLaren Trophy EVO.
A freak rainstorm over the second sector of the racetrack mixed up the proceedings in race one with several drivers sliding off the track before the Safety Car was called. When racing resumed the drivers had to use every ounce of feel to guide their cars through the still wet but drying section on their slick Pirelli tires. It was James Li and Casey Dennis however who emerged victorious, beating John Capestro-Dubets, or JCD as he is known, and new teammate Andre Solano.
GMG Racing driver James Sofronas put in a storming drive in qualifying to secure overall pole position for race two of the weekend, While Motorsports In Action racer Alexandra Hainer put in a great lap to line up P1 in the Pro-Am class. Starting sixth overall she put in an assured performance in the 50-minute race to take her first Pro-Am victory with teammate Jesse Lazare. Meanwhile, JCD and Andre Solano secured their first of two victories over the weekend, while GMG Racing teammate Sofranos converted pole position into his second win.
The gap in Sunday's qualifying session between the top two was just 0.020 of a second, setting up and intriguing battle for the final contest with Sofronas edging out Race for RP-backed driver Kevin Madsen. As the lights went out and the cars blasted up the hit to turn one, the GMG cars once capitalized to run first and second, positions they would only relinquish during pit stops to take Pro and Am class victories.
Former McLaren Trophy Europe championship contender Rafa Martinez made his American series debut with teammate Lancaster in the Pro-Am class. After limited testing they made a solid start to the weekend but brought things together in the final race to secure victory after on the road winners Hainer and Lazare were hit with a penalty for a pit stop infraction.
Second place however is enough to strengthen their position at the top of the Pro-Am championship standings for Hainer and Lazare with a healthy 10-point advantage over their nearest rivals. In the Pro class the gap is just four points between the Li/Dennis pairing and Cooper Broll and Tommy Pintos, while James Sofranos leads the Am title battle, but three consistent races Colin Harrison puts him just six points behind.
The championship now has a ten-week break before racing resumed at Virginia International Raceway on the 19th and 20th July, where the team and drivers will once again battle it out to see who will become the first McLaren Trophy America champion.
'With three races, it was a busy weekend for everyone in Texas, but we've had some really great, close racing. It does mean that the competitive order is starting to take shape, and we can see who is going to be battling for the title at the end of the season in Indianapolis. Congratulations to all the race winners, they all raced hard and earned their success. We've now got a bit of a gap until rounds five and six at VIR but in the meantime we can look forward to the start of the McLaren Trophy Europe season at Brands Hatch next weekend.'
Rob Bell, Sporting Director, McLaren Automotive
Photo credit: McLaren posted on conceptcarz.com
