Sofronas, Pintos Score Poles; Drama for Pro Points Leaders

Photo: Dan Bathie/McLaren

James Sofronas and Tommy Pintos claimed overall pole positions for the pair of season-ending McLaren Trophy America races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, amid drama for the Pro class points-leading RWE McLaren Artura Trophy EVO in qualifying.

A last-lap flyer by Sofronas, in the Am class No. 14 GMG Racing McLaren Artura Trophy EVO, saw the team owner/driver reel off a chart-topping 1:26.735 lap time to edge out Pro class pole-sitter Cooper Broll by 0.031 seconds.

Colin Harrison will start Race 1 from third, ahead of Pro-Am class pole-sitter Patrick Liddy in the No. 24 Forte Racing McLaren in fourth.

The 15-minute session was halted with nine minutes to go when Pro points leader Casey Dennis’ No. 74 RWE Motorsport McLaren stopped in Turn 14 with a technical issue. The session restarted with four minutes and 30 minutes to go.

Dennis’ issue could have significant championship implications, with he and James Li having entered the title-deciding weekend with just a 3.5 point lead over Broll and Tommy Pintos, and the No. 74 car not setting a time in Q2.

Pintos’ 1:25.612 lap time was the benchmark among the two sessions and ended up 0.533 seconds quicker than Race 2 Am pole-sitter Jeff Cook in the No. 5 Dark Horse Race entry.

Fellow Am class competitors Harrison and Sofronas were third and fourth, respectively, with John Dempsey putting the No. 10 RWE McLaren on Pro-Am pole for Race 2.

Race 1 gets underway at 2:05 p.m. EST, with the season finale scheduled for Friday at 1:40 p.m., with both races streamed live on SRO’S GT World and McLaren Automotive’s YouTube channels.

RESULTS: Qualifying 1/Qualifying 2

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John