Fleming: Second Overall “Unbelievable” for Archangel

Photo: Fabian Lagunas/SRO

McLaren GT3 Junior driver Tom Fleming said finishing second overall in Saturday’s Desder Indianapolis 8 Hour was an “unbelievable” result for he and Archangel co-drivers Aaron Telitz and Todd Coleman, who ended their GT World Challenge America powered by AWS season on a high note.

Fleming, in his first race with the Mike Johnson-led team, took the team’s No. 69 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo to the finish, 56 seconds behind the race and Pro-Am championship-winning No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo of Ayhancan Guven, Riccardo Pera and Kyle Washington.

It marked the team’s second consecutive top-three overall finish after Telitz and Coleman broke through to claim Pro-Am class honors at Barber Motorsports Park.

However, with a record 27-car GT3 field for a U.S. Intercontinental GT Challenge round, it came as the team’s best-ever run with the McLaren, under the backdrop of SRO Motorsports Group’s globe-trotting GT3 series.

“It’s honestly unbelievable,” Fleming told Sportscar365. “These guys have been in some amazing form recently and to be P2 overall and P2 in class, they’ve done an amazing job.

“They executed perfectly. Todd and Aaron did an amazing job. It was a real team effort today.

“Outside the 32 [car], we had the fastest car.

“I’ve got to thank the guys at Archangel for producing an amazing car for us. Tim on the engineering side of things and Mike, everyone did an amazing job.

“I’m really, really proud of the team. I hope to do it again soon.”

Telitz made a key late-race pass to ensure an overall podium finish, getting around the Pro class No. 12 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo of Frederik Schandorff with 1 hour and 10 minutes to go before the team jumped the eventual Pro category-winning Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Robby Foley in the final round of pit stops.

“I think his car was maybe falling off a bit on tires at the end of the stint and ours just held onto it better at the end there and we were able to get up to P2 overall,” said Telitz.

“That’s sealed the deal and then Tom brought it home for us.”

He added: “We were hoping for a big result here. We knew we were going to be quick.

“Todd did such a great job and Tom has been such a fun addition this weekend; he’s such a good kid. We just had it rolling. We’re pleased with second placed.”

Team owner Johnson, who claimed a class win of his own earlier in the day in GT America powered by AWS action, admitted they didn’t have anything for the race-winning GMG Porsche, which ran its FIA Bronze-rated driver Washington to nearly the minimum in drive time.

While each driver needed to complete at least 60 minutes in the race, there was also a maximum drive time of three-and-a-half hours, which Johnson said put the Porsche “so tight” in terms of either Guven or Pera going over.

“We always knew we had a fast car,” Johnson told Sportscar365. “We’ve had a fast car all year, but that 32 car, that was a rocket.

“But they did it perfectly. They pitted much earlier than anybody else did and [Kyle] Washington only did 1 hour and 27 [minutes], which makes the drive time so tight and we didn’t want to make it that tight.

“But obviously with no yellows, it worked out perfectly for them. They did a great job and great pit stops, and so did we. But we’re very, very happy with an overall second is pretty good.”

The result marked McLaren’s best-ever result in a U.S. IGTC race, improving on K-PAX Racing’s third place overall finish with a McLaren 650S GT3 in the 2017 California 8 Hours.

“We could have won Sebring when we had an issue and you just never know if a McLaren is going to go all the way,” added Johnson.

“But the car ran perfect and having Tom was a really great addition, a great kid, and hope to see him do really. It’s fun to have someone to root for in WEC now.

“It was a great end of the year for us and it’s going to be a great starting point for us to come back next year.”

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