Li, Dennis Win Sonoma Makeup Race at COTA

Photo: Dan Bathie/McLaren

James Li and Casey Dennis won the rescheduled Race 2 from Sonoma Raceway on Friday at the Circuit of The Americas for RWE Motorsport to take back-to-back McLaren Trophy America victories.

Weather conditions in Sonoma forced the second race of the weekend to be rescheduled to this weekend in Austin, forming a triple-header for the single-make championship.

Dennis led the 15-car field to green, fending off significant pressure from GMG Racing’s John Capestro-Dubets and Jeff Cook at the start before the field fell under caution on Lap 2.

Capestro-Dubets and Dennis swapped the lead multiple times on the restart, with the GMG driver ultimately emerging at the head of the field once the dust settled, despite near-constant pressure from the Pro class RWE driver until he took to pit lane for his mandatory stop.

Andre Solano, now at the wheel of the No. 4 GMG Artura Trophy Evo, regained the overall lead of the race, with the freshly-installed James Li charging behind in his No. 74 ‘Lightning McLaren.’

Li made the decisive move for the lead in the final sector with just under 13 minutes remaining, going on to take the checkered flag two seconds clear of Solano behind, who continued to challenge the RWE driver for the lead with the majority of his push-to-pass allocation at his disposal.

Kevin Madsen initially took the checkered flag in third overall and appeared to secure the Am class win after a solo drive in his No. 53 RP Motorsports by Forte Racing McLaren. However, his solo participation was reviewed by race control, ultimately moving him to the back of the field with a driver participation penalty.

James Sofronas, meanwhile, inherited both the Am class victory and the final overall podium spot for GMG.

Earlier in the race, Am class pole-sitter Cook was handed a drive-through penalty for a start procedure violation, despite starting the race fourth overall.

TechSport’s Colin Harrison was promoted to fourth overall and second in Am, with Skip Barber Racing’s Cooper Broll completing the overall top five and the Pro class podium.

Alexandra Hainer emerged from the pits still in control of the Pro-Am order after taking over from co-driver Jesse Lazare, who took the green flag at the head of the class.

Hainer, despite momentary pressure from a charging Jason Guzman, opened up a gap to secure the class win with a 20-plus second margin to the AERO-B Motorsports driver behind.

The field fell under full-course caution in the opening stages for a stricken Stephen Sorbaro, who sustained heavy damage in his solo-drive No. 49 OMS McLaren as rain began to fall over sections of the 3.41-mile circuit.

The second race of the weekend and the third round of the season will take place Saturday at 2:50 p.m. CST with live coverage available on McLaren Automotive and SRO’s GT World YouTube channels.

RESULTS: Sonoma Makeup Race 2