McLaren 570S GT4 and 720S GT3 race cars were in action with customer teams over the weekend on both sides of the Atlantic, with podiums and strong finishes in the British GT Championship meeting at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium and the IMSA Michelin PILOT Challenge and WeatherTech Sprint Cup races at Lime Rock Park.
The headline results were achieved in the British GT Championship’s annual overseas round at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium. At the end of the action-packed two-hour race, McLaren Customer Racing teams Tolman Motorsport and Balfe Motorsport were involved in battles for the podiums and both teams claimed silverware.
The highly-competitive 26-car GT4 class saw a record eight examples of the McLaren 570S GT4 on track, with the #5 Tolman Motorsport car, driven by McLaren Automotive Driver Development Programme duo Jordan Collard and Lewis Proctor, crossing the line in second place. The podium came after Tolman teammates James Dorlin and Josh Smith in the #4 sister car lost the lead in heart-breaking fashion; having led the field for the majority of the race, an incident as they started the last lap saw them drop down to seventh.
Further McLaren highlights from the British GT round at Spa included:
- In the GT3 class, Balfe Motorsport narrowly missed a podium finish with the #22 720S GT3. Driver pairing Shaun Balfe and McLaren Factory Driver Rob Bell moved up to finish fourth, after qualifying 11th.
- Balfe Motorsport took the ProAm honours in the GT4 category, with the #20 570S GT4 of Graham Johnson and McLaren Automotive Young Professional Michael O’Brien claiming class victory and fourth overall
- HHC Motorsport drivers Luke Williams and Ruben del Sarte moved up through the grid after qualifying in 22nd place, to bring the #58 car home in 11th
- Customer Racing team ALFAB Racing made a strong championship debut, finishing fifth in the ProAm class and 12th overall. The GT4 Scandinavia race winners made a one-off British GT entry with teammates Erik Behrens and Daniel Roos
- The #21 Balfe Motorsport entry of Mia Flewitt and Stewart Proctor completed the final wildcard entry of the season with a third consecutive finish, taking P18 overall and P1 in the Am class
- With another strong finish for Collard and Proctor, they are now second in the standings and just five points off the Drivers Championship lead with two rounds remaining.
In the USA, Canadian-based teams Motorsports In Action and Compass Racing took part in the IMSA weekend at the Lime Rock Park circuit based in Connecticut, racing in the Michelin PILOT Challenge. Compass Racing also contested the WeatherTech Sprint Cup.
After qualifying fifth for the Michelin PILOT Challenge round, the Jesse Lazare/Corey Fergus #69 570S GT4 of Motorsports In Action remained in the hunt for the race lead throughout. A late safety car period resulted in the pair finishing seventh, scoring vital points for the title challenge; they currently sit third in the championship, just seven points off the lead.
Compass Racing showed strong pace with the #75 570S GT4, moving up the field from 19th on the grid to as high as fourth place. Contact during the second-half of the two-hour race saw Paul Rees and McLaren Factory Driver Kuno Wittmer bring the car home in P13. Compass Racing was also contesting the IMSA WeatherTech Sprint Cup with the 720S GT3, which saw McLaren Factory Driver Paul Holton and Matt Plumb score a top 10 finish.
