Continuing the rich vein of form, the McLaren 650S GT3 has won a further brace of championship titles in one weekend. Customer teams Darrell Lea and Tekno Autosports claimed the CAMS Australian GT Championship and the Australian Endurance Championship respectively, marking the ninth and tenth titles won by McLaren to date during the 2016 GT season.
The season-ending race weekend for the two series took place at Highlands Motorsport Park in New Zealand. The Australian GT Championship double-header title decider, followed by the Australian Endurance Championship finale – the Highlands 101.
Klark Quinn, driving for customer team Darrell Lea, arrived at the final races of the season leading the championship, and his third Australian GT title was secured with a podium finish in the second race. It was a dramatic way to end the season, as Quinn retired from Race 1 after a last lap collision with his title rival while leading.
With his title hopes recharged after a penalty to the Race 1 winner just before the start of Race 2, Quinn made a good start in the #37 650S GT3, and took the lead after the round of pit stops. As the race progressed, and the championship well within his grasp, he did not risk his chances of losing out on the championship and crossed the line to take P3. Having started P6, fellow McLaren drivers Nathan Antunes and Elliot Barber in the #61 Tekno Autosports 650S GT3 secured the overall race win after a dominant performance in the closing stages of the race.
Success for McLaren and the 650S GT3 continued the following day as Tekno Autosports pairing of Grant Denyer and Nathan Morcom finished the Highlands 101 endurance race with a solid top 10 finish. Despite a mechanical issue during the race, the pair brought the #59 650S GT3 home in P8 to secure the inaugural Australian Endurance Championship.
Both Morcom and Denyer battled through the problem, but a lack of pace in the closing stages of the 101-lap race forced Morcom to pit with five laps remaining to ensure the car made the finish. The heroic effort capped an extremely strong season for the duo, who won the opening round of the championship and scored a further three solid points finishes to keep them in the title hunt until the final round. The result marks the tenth championship title for McLaren during the 2016 season; the most successful campaign for McLaren in GT racing to date.
