Li, Neser Take McLaren Trophy Race 1 Win in Miami

Photo: Dan Bathie/McLaren

James Li and Sam Neser claimed overall honors in the first McLaren Trophy America race of the weekend at the Miami International Autodrome, supporting the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix.

Li took his No. 74 RWE Motorsport McLaren Artura Trophy EVO to victory over Deniz Teoman’s No. 5 GMG Racing entry in a 40-minute contest that ended under the safety car.

While the No. 5 GMG Racing entry of Jeff Cook started from the overall pole and led the opening stanza, Li emerged as the leader following the mandatory round of pit stops and driver changes for the top three cars.

Papaya Cup entrant Teoman held on to finish second and take the Am class win in the GMG entry, thanks in part to the safety car for the No. 52 AERO-B McLaren of Joe Osborne, which stopped on track with less than four minutes to go.

Teoman had come under heavy pressure from Tanner Harvey in the No. 24 Forte Racing McLaren prior to the neutralization.

Harvey and co-driver Patrick Liddey finished third overall as a result and second in the Pro class.

The No. 22 Greystone GT McLaren duo of Ryan James and Oliver Webb were fourth and took the Pro-Am class win.

Tony Davis, making a cameo appearance in an OMS-run McLaren, lost fifth place and second in Am to Cooper Broll in the No. 100 Forte entry just prior to the yellow and finished fifth and sixth overall, respectively.

There were several incidents in the opening lap, including a spin by the No. 52 AERO-B McLaren of Erik Behrens and an issue for the No. 11 RWE entry of Edmond Barseghian.

Behrens’ co-driver, Osborne, meanwhile, stopped on track with less than four minutes to go that resulted in a local yellow that turned into a race-ending full-course caution.

There was also a late clash between Fabuo Greco and Jon Miller.

The second race of the weekend is currently scheduled for 8:30 a.m. EST with live coverage on McLaren Automotive’s YouTube channel.

RESULTS: Race 1

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