RWE Leads First McLaren Trophy America Practice Sessions

Photo: Brian Cleary/SRO

Casey Dennis topped the overall times in the opening day of McLaren Trophy America practice at Sonoma Raceway for RWE Motorsport in the series’ inaugural weekend on U.S. soil.

Dennis reeled off a 1:38.386-second lap in the No. 74 McLaren Artura Trophy Evo he shares with James Li in the second of two 45-minute Friday practice sessions around the 2.520-mile Northern California road course.

The No. 4 GMG Racing machine was second-fastest on the day with John Capestro-Dubets finishing second practice just 0.389 seconds off of Dennis’ pace.

Fellow Pro-Am competitors Flying Lizard Motorsports was third fastest, with Canaan O’Connell at the wheel of the No. 18 McLaren that set the pace in changing conditions during Practice 1.

Despite not turning any laps in the morning session, the Am-class No. 5 Dark horse Racing Artura finished fourth fastest overall and comfortably quickest in class with Jeff Cook’s best Practice 2 effort.

Motorsports In Action’s Jesse Lazare rounded out the overall top five in the No. 43 machine, with the top five lap times all within one second of one another.

Overall, times were significantly faster on a dry track in Practice 2 after first practice began in wet conditions, with drivers only switching to slicks in the final 15 minutes.

A red flag impacted Practice 1 after the No. 4 GMG Artura went for a spin. However, the car still managed to complete 12 laps in the session, with Andrew Chinnici setting the second-fastest Practice 1 time in damp conditions.

Practice 2 saw an on-track incident between 2023 McLaren Trophy Europe champion Tommy Pintos and the Pro-Am class No. 3 Flying Lizard car of George Lawrence result in a drive-through penalty for the Spaniard. However, the session ran entirely green.

Qualifying 1 for kicks off Saturday morning at 8:15 a.m. PST followed by the series’ inaugural race at 12:05 p.m.

RESULTS: Practice 1/Practice 2