Parente Completes Dominant Mid-Ohio Sweep with Race 2 Win

Alvaro Parente dove to the inside of Patrick Long to take the race lead on the first pass through Turn 1 and led the rest of the way, winning Race 2 of the Pirelli World Challenge weekend, sweeping both races at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Parente was scheduled to start on pole in the No. 9 K-PAX Racing McLaren 650S GT3 after recording the fastest lap in Race 1 on Saturday, but gridded up in fourth after he was assessed a three-spot grid penalty by the stewards for Race 2 for a violation on the start in Race 1.

The defending Pirelli World Challenge GT Champion was promoted to third before the race went green when his teammate Bryan Sellers spun on the pace lap from his second-place starting position. Sellers managed to rejoin at the back of the field.

The spin delayed the race start by a lap and when the green flag flew, two and a half minutes had run off the clock.

Patrick Long, who was promoted to the pole by the Parente penalty, led the field for the first sequence of corners, but couldn’t keep the Portuguese ace behind for long.

Once around Long’s Porsche 911 GT3 R, Parente built a comfortable margin and cruised to the finish 6.628 seconds ahead of the Wright Motorsports driver.

Reigning PWC GT Cup champion Alec Udell scored his first-career GT Sprint podium with an impressive run to third in the No. 17 GMG Racing Porsche, leading the Ferrari 488 GT3 machines of Kyle Marcelli and Daniel Mancinelli.

It was a tough afternoon for Cadillac Racing. Michael Cooper, second in the points standings entering the weekend, soldiered home in seventh, while Johnny O’Connell fought his way back to 11th after an early spin brought on by contact in the Keyhole.

Parente’s teammate Sellers, meanwhile, recovered from his pace-lap spin to take 10th in his K-PAX McLaren.

James Sofronas defended his GTA win in Race 1 by winning again on Sunday in Race 2, edging Michael Schein and Pablo Perez Companc. Yuki Harata won the GT Cup class.

RESULTS: Race 2