McIntosh Came “So Close” to Double World Title

Anthony McIntosh is “so thankful” to leave the Lamborghini World Finals at Jerez having won the global Pro-Am title, despite also narrowly missing out on a second consecutive Am crown.

The American racer entered the World Finals with the opportunity to win championships in two classes, defending his Am crown with Wayne Taylor Racing co-driver Glenn McGee while also competing in the Pro-Am class alongside Brendon Leitch.

While McIntosh missed out on a second consecutive Am title by a single point to Boutsen VDS driver Renaud Kuppens, he then joined Leitch to complete a clean sweep of wins in Pro-Am and capture the crown in that class.

“It was so close to a double,” McIntosh told Sportscar365.

“It was one point off. We had a second place and a first place in Am, and Kuppens is an amazing driver. Just got into a little bit of trouble last lap, a couple of corners to the end, and that’s just how racing is.

“So, so close. One point away from a double. But honestly, both teams have been awesome and I just thankful for the opportunity it’s just been actually amazing.”

“Honestly, just having a championship, a world championship is amazing, just one. So I’m just thankful.”

While McIntosh admitted that tackling all four World Finals races across Saturday and Sunday took a physical toll, he felt it aided him as well as it gave him increased knowledge of track conditions compared to his rivals.

“It was a lot of work,” McIntosh said. “I put in the fitness to make sure I could do that.

I had a lot of track experience. I knew exactly what the track condition was at all times before I got in the car, because I was just getting out [of the car.]

“So that helped and propelled me to my success.”

He further added that the back-to-back races allowed him to remain focused and concentrated, as the schedule sometimes gave him as little as an hour between stars.

“That’s a big thing because you almost warm up for whatever next race you have,” he said.

“So you got a nice buffer there. So if you kind of make some mistakes, you can quickly correct those mistakes and get on for the next race.”

Finally, McIntosh praised Leipert Motorsport co-driver Leitch, who also added to his Super Trofeo resume after became European champion last year.

“So the Pro-Am [team] with Brendon, it’s just been very calm, honestly,” said McIntosh.

“It’s been a calm sensation because we do a lot of preparation work together. He’s an amazing driver and Leipert is an amazing team, so it was a very relaxed scenario.”