Papaya Cup Set for Launch This Weekend

Photo: Brian Cleary/SRO

McLaren Trophy America will recognize Pro-Am and Am drivers over a certain age or with limited experience with the launch of the Papaya Cup beginning with this weekend’s fifth and sixth rounds of the season at Virginia International Raceway.

Eligibility for the Papaya Cup, which will run outside of the existing Pro, Pro-Am and Am classes, includes Am drivers over the age of 60 and Am drivers younger than 60 based on their previous levels of experience.

Drivers who are admitted to the Papaya Cup will continue to compete for the overall positions and podiums within their categories, although Papaya Cup Pro-Am and Am podiums will also be held, where nominated drivers will receive specially commissioned Papaya Cup medals.

The top Papaya Cup Pro-Am and Am drivers, meanwhile, will be recognized at the McLaren Trophy championship awards on Nov. 15 at the McLaren Technology Center in Woking, England.

“The McLaren Motorsport team is confident that this new driver category will add a new dimension of competition to the McLaren Trophy America, ensuring that thrilling racing among all drivers remains a cornerstone of our new series,” a statement from the series read.

The SRO America-run single-make championship, which debuted at Sonoma Raceway this year, will have a 15-car entry for VIR, featuring a largely unchanged grid since the most recent triple-header at Circuit of The Americas in April.

While the No. 11 Moonfire Motorsports and No. 52 Aero-B Motorsports McLaren Artura Trophy Evos have dropped off the entry, the No. 56 Hooper Street Racing  entry will feature only Bob Stockard at the wheel, after son Robby took part in the opening races.

Additionally, the No. 812 RAFA Racing Club entry, which featured Rafael Martinez and Jon Lancaster at COTA, has yet to announce its driver lineup for this weekend.

RWE Motorsport’s Casey Dennis and James Li continue to lead the Pro class points standings, while Alexandra Hainer and Jesse Lazare, of Motorsports In Action, hold the lead of Pro-Am and GMG Racing team owner/driver James Sofronas out front in Am heading into the weekend.

Track action kicks off on Thursday evening with a test session, followed by practice on Friday, Qualifying 1 on Saturday morning and Race 1 set for a 12:05 p.m. EST start. Race 2 takes the green flag on Sunday at 10:15 a.m., with both 50-minute races streamed live on McLaren Automotive and SRO’s GT World YouTube channels.

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