McLaren Customer Racing Teams Taste Success In Several Championships Over A Bumper Motorsport Weekend

June 11, 2019 by McLaren

•The McLaren 570S GT4 and 720S GT3 achieve podium finishes in each of the championships contested

•Victories at the Red Bull Ring, Silverstone, Spa-Francorchamps and Sonoma

•1-2 finish for Teo Martin Motorsport at Spa-Francorchamps marks the 51st anniversary of Bruce McLaren's first win for the McLaren Formula 1 team at the same track

On a busy weekend for McLaren Customer Racing teams racing around the world, teams running both the 570S GT4 and 720S GT3 scored milestone results, claiming a top-three result in each of the seven championships contested. Highlights for the 570S GT4 included podium finishes in the USA, Austria and the UK, while the 720S GT3 secured further silverware in Australia and at Spa-Francorchamps. The latter result was achieved exactly 51 years to the day that the company's founder, Bruce McLaren, scored the team's first ever win in Formula 1 at the same circuit.

A strong display by Teo Martin Motorsport at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium for Round 3 of the International GT Open championship saw a podium finish in Race 1 for the #59 of pairing Henrique Chaves and Martin Kodric. After suffering misfortune in the opening race, teammates Andres Saravia and Fran Rueda made amends with a convincing victory in Race 2, leading home Chaves and Kodric to secure a 1-2 finish for the team. The result has given Chaves and Kodric now leading the championship as it heads to Round 4 in Austria next month.

In Australia, Fraser Ross was joined by Australian GT GT4 race-winner Ryan Simpson for the opening round of the endurance championship with 59Racing. The pairing showed strong pace in every session at Australia's Phillip Island circuit and secured pole position. Consistently quick pace by both drivers kept the team in contention for a podium finish, and after three hours of hard racing they eventually crossed the line in second place, just 20 seconds off the lead.

At Silverstone in the UK, the Balfe Motorsport-entered 720S GT3 qualified on the second row for the British GT event, and the pairing of Shaun Balfe and McLaren Factory Driver Rob Bell remained in contention, taking the race lead shortly before the half-way point. An issue during the final routine stop saw the team handed a drive-through penalty and, as a result, miss out on a top-10 finish.

With action at Sonoma Raceway in California, Spa-Francorchamps, Austria's Red Bull Ring and Silverstone in the UK, the 570S GT4 collected a total of 14 trophies over the weekend, including five victories.

The McLaren highlights from the North American racing action at Sonoma included:

---

Trending News

• MotoAmerica And Road America Ink A Multi-Year Partnership Extension
• 1938 Talbot-Lago T150 C Lago Spéciale Teardrop Coupé Headlines a Roster of Early Consignments for the 2024 Broad Arrow Monterey Auction
• Renault Group and Geely announce the creation of leading Powertrain Technology Company, 'HORSE Powertrain Limited'
• SEAT S.A. achieves best sustainability results in its history and reduces the environmental impact of its facilities by 53% since 2010
• Chelsea Truck Company styling package for INEOS Grenadier

---

•After finishing runner-up in opening GT4 America Sprint race of the weekend, McLaren Automotive Factory Driver Michael Cooper claimed the 570S GT4's first series win at the wheel of the #10 Blackdog Speed Shop entry

•Blackdog Speed Shop teammate Tony Gaples also performed strongly in the #11, achieving two top-four finishes in the highly competitive ProAm category

•Andretti Autosport secured a double SprintX podium, including a class victory in Race 2 with Jarett Andretti and Colin Mullan

Across Europe, the 570S GT4 took part in ADAC GT Masters in Austria, the second round of the GT Cup Open Europe in Belgium and the blue riband event in the British GT championship calendar at Silverstone. Highlights from these events included:

•Team GT took a podium finish with each of the team's two entries across the weekend's two ADAC GT races at the Red Bull Ring. Michael Benyahia and McLaren Young Professional Charlie Fagg took second place in race 1, followed by race victory for Felix van der Laden and Alain Valente

•Dörr Motorsport's Thomas Krebs and Fred Martin-Dye completed the ADAC GT podium in the second race with a hard-fought third place finish

•In Spa-Francorchamps, Teo Martin Motorsport recorded a second 1-2 race finish in the Silver Cup during race 1 of the GT Cup Open Europe, followed by a third-place finish in the weekend's second race

•HHC Motorsport pairing of Dean Macdonald and Callum Pointon maintained the British GT championship lead and were the top-finishing McLaren in ninth at the three-hour Silverstone 500 endurance event

•Balfe Motorsport claimed British GT Am-class victory with Pure McLaren GT Series graduates Mia Flewitt and Stewart Proctor

•Tolman Motorsport showed race-winning pace throughout the race, and led the class into the final hour before late technical issues dropped the McLaren Automotive Driver Development Programme pairing of James Dorlin and Josh Smith out of contention

With these latest results, McLaren Customer Racing teams remain firmly in the fight for championship honours across Europe, the US and Australia.