Johnson: Archangel’s First McLaren Win ‘Long Time Coming’

Photo: Susan Jary

Archangel Motorsports’ Pro-Am class victory in last weekend’s GT World Challenge America powered by AWS round at Barber Motorsports Park was a “long time coming” according to team principal Mike Johnson, who is working to confirm 2027 programs.

Aaron Telitz and Todd Coleman combined to give the McLaren 720S GT3 Evo its first major victory in a professional North American-based championship, following a controlling run in the three-hour race.

It came in the second season of the program, which saw Telitz and Coleman come close to top class honors on a number of occasions.

“It was weird because we would get a pre-race BoP power adjustment and then we’d actually lose power,” Johnson told Sportscar365.

“We probably could have won VIR last year but the motor quit on us and just every race we’d go to, it was close and the McLaren guys kept trying to figure it out but it had this intermittent miss that we just never solved.

“We put a new motor in at the end of the year last year and the car’s been alive all year.

“This year, we probably could have won Sebring and we had a failure in the fuel system. We’ve had a couple of incidents and a few mistakes but Todd’s just been really strong all year.

“It’s finally coming together.

“He’s up there with some of these derogated Silvers, and that’s one of the issues we’ve been having a little bit this year. It makes it a little difficult but Todd’s been able to hang right in there and we finally put all the pieces together.”

The win was the first for the 720S GT3 Evo in either GTWC America or IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition, although the car did previously win on U.S. soil in last year’s Lone Star Le Mans FIA World Endurance Championship event with United Autosports.

“Watching the car for so many years be so fast and so strong but just never getting it together, whether it’s been here or in IMSA,” said Johnson.

“Our car is the old Pfaff car, which is kind of funny. Winning the race with the Pfaff car and [I’ve been] winning races with the Pfaff Temerario [in IMSA].

“It’s been such a long time coming, not only for the car but for the team as well.”

Johnson is hopeful the team can end the season on a high note in next weekend’s Desder Indianapolis 8 Hour, particularly after seeing the encouraging pace from the factory Team RLL McLaren in the WeatherTech Championship race two weeks ago.

“The car has been so strong and we’ve got a really solid third driver,” he said. “We’re looking forward to it.

“We saw the McLaren went really strong in the hands of Rahal in the IMSA event there, I think that track should suit us pretty well.”

Johnson Hopeful of SRO Programs Continuing, Seeking New Opportunities in IMSA

The longtime team owner and renowned race strategist is working to confirm both Coleman and Ruckus Racing’s programs for next year, with the Archangel-managed, Scott Blind-owned Porsche outfit set to continue “at some level” next year.

However, Johnson is looking for new opportunities in the IMSA paddock following the end of Pfaff Motorsports, which he has served as the team’s strategist, as well as the Archangel-run Circle H Racing program moving in-house for 2027.

“It was really great to join Pfaff, such a well-known team and with all the fan support they have, it’s been a lot of fun,” he said.

“Scoring two wins in GTD Pro and a couple of podiums were fantastic to do it with the new Temerario. It’s just sad to see such a historic program come to an end.

“In GS, We’ve run Circle H’s program this year out of our shop in St. Louis. They’re moving the shop to Oregon, which is where they’re all from. I think we were an interim, one year, plan for them from the beginning.

“All is fine there but we do have the shop, the team and the equipment and all the people to run a GS program.

“We’re also looking very heavy into Super Trofeo next year. My relationship with Erik Skirmants (Lamborghini America motorsport senior manager) has just gotten better and better through the years.

“We were on the short list for the Temerario GT3 to run that program [in IMSA] but finding the finances for that are next to impossible when you have two months to do it and you don’t already have a WeatherTech program.”

“We’ll see where all these pieces end up in the next couple of weeks.”

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